Blog Post 3

The Eight Values of Free Expression

    The First Amendment states that Congress cannot make a law that can regulate an establishments religion or prohibits its free exercise. The First Amendment includes freedom from and of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The Eight Values of Free Expression include Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Government Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent. 

Personally, the value of free expression that resonates most with me is Individual Self-Fulfillment. Individual Self-Fulfillment is "free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity - and, in the process perhaps, find kindred spirits. Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency and autonomy." I believe this freedom so important to each person so they are able to express themselves and are able to say or post whatever they please. Without this, change or growth will not happen. People need to be inspired by other individuals to broaden their horizons and to see and hear different things.

Social media in this day-in-age plays a key role in keeping the fourth value of free expression alive. A Tufts University article defined social media as the "interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas".  This is exactly a way people can express their thoughts and ideas as well as be themselves. Today more than ever people are posting whatever they like on social media as a way to express themselves and show off their personality. 

    However, with the government being involved more and more with people online and involved in the applications, they are censoring people who do not have the same opinions as them. We have talked in class how numerous, well known, people have been shunned off the internet and can no longer post or express their thoughts to everyone online. A ScienceDirect article stated that "a new type of censoring has emerged wherein people selectively remove opposing political viewpoints from online contexts." This is something dangerous because this kind of censorship is not allowed. People are allowed to voice their own opinions on any topic online and should not have to worry if someone from the government, who is most likely working with whatever social media platform they are using, is going to remove their posts. Getting rid of opposing views is not beneficial for anyone, online differences spark debates which can teach others on the other topic and broaden peoples views. 

Silencing peoples posts online is completely against everything the Eight Values of Free Expression writes about. Our country's citizens will not learn, grow, or change if people do not learn from one another. That is why Individual Self-Fulfillment is such an important value because it allows people to truly be themselves and connect with others just like them. Even if they don't find others with the same opinion, they are still able to have a conversation with someone who believes the opposite. Both can benefit from learning from one another. If they are silenced constantly it will only bring a negative feeling towards others for not allowing them to voice their opinions.