8 values of free expression

 

One of the eight values of free expression that resonates with me the most is number 2, “Participation in Self-Government.” I think that this topic is extremely important because it affects our right to our first amendment. By not having the ability to speak a certain way without getting in trouble is called prior restraint. When the Government forbids you from saying something before you’ve written or spoken it. If we aren’t able to speak out about the government doing something that we aren’t fond of or talk about how wrong they are handling something, it can affect our election abilities. We need to be able to have our rights and if we can’t, big mistakes can be made without knowledge. 

 We see value number 7, “promoting innovation” in our daily lives now. Although many people to this day don’t speak up about our governments choices and what we do or don’t agree with, day by day our country is beginning to speak up more. For example, the protesting that has gone on about women’s rights to abortion. People heard what the government was trying to do and decided to stand up against it. Although I may not agree with all of this, the peoples opinions were heard and taken into account. They didn’t get in trouble or put in jail for voicing their opinions and speaking out against the government. Due to this our society is able to diversify more and more and new ideas and creativity are brought up to challenge the government and make our country the best it can be. 

  This theory helps our society tremendously. Another thing that has happened was the BLM movement. George Floyd was the main turning point in everyone's view. He got killed by police men who may have been a little too harsh. When the people heard about this news they got fired up. They decided to take it up to the White House and protest. Now again, I may not think that this is right, but it created a step in the right direction of using our rights and speaking up for what we believe in and want to change. The cops ended up being dealt with in the right way and even though it still left many unhappy, their voices helped the officials come up with a solution and put themselves in others shoes.

  We are so lucky to have the right to speak up and say what we do and don’t agree with. Many countries such as North Korea, are not given this freedom of speech and are harmed or even potentially killed for speaking up about the government in a negative way. So, regarding to promoting innovation, we need to take advantage of what is going on in the news, on social media, do our research and announce our calculated opinions. By doing this, it opens others' minds to new ways of thinking and when we all gather to approach the government, our voices will be heard.