Blog Post #4- The Eight Values of Free Expression

 

The First Amendment is the foundation of America that aims to protect the individual rights of citizens from governmental power. Within the first amendment, there are eight major values of free expression which include: a marketplace of ideas, participation in self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, check on governmental power, promote tolerance, promote innovation, and protect dissent. Freedom of expression means individuals can express their beliefs and thoughts without fear of censorship from the government. All of these values can be seen in everyday events, but the more prevalent values in our society are protect dissent, participation in self-government, and marketplace of ideas.


Protect dissent means protecting the belief of everyone, especially the minority voice. No matter how much someone’s views differ from the majority belief, that person has the right to stand by and express their opinion. This is the basis of individual rights because without this society would never develop. Development takes place when the minority belief becomes more of a majority-supported belief. Protect dissent is very important in society because it enables everyone to feel safe expressing their beliefs.


Participation in self-government means that one’s civic duty is to petition or speak up to the government if they are doing something unlawful. The right to free speech and press is what gives citizens the ability to participate in government. Citizens can petition the government and hold peaceful protests if they disagree with actions made by the government. This year individuals who participated in self-governing increased, with the recent social justice issues. This is evident in the protests that were held this summer, thousands of Americans protested for human and social rights. These peaceful protests were a main example of how participating in self-government works because it helps pass new legislation and get new politicians in office.


A Marketplace of ideas was meant to create a society that allows everyone to express their beliefs even if they are false. This value was created because the founders hoped that the truth and the great ideas would always prevail. This may have been a great idea at the beginning of our democracy, but I believe this idea has morphed over time with the use of social media. In our current society, individuals can easily spread false stories on social media platforms. This makes it harder for citizens to trust what is true and they have a difficult time deciphering what is true and false. Fake news stories are spread every day and they have major effects on citizens and their trust in the government. False stories about the coronavirus and what the government is doing to control the spread have made citizens lose trust in the government and science. Sometimes the truth about fake news stories is not spread nearly half. Fake news is a part of a marketplace of ideas, but that does not mean it's always productive in society.