Eight Values of Free Expression

The Most Important Values:

As I see it, the most important values of free expression are Stable Change and Marketplace of Ideas. They both focus on using words to hash out issues. Stable Change, specifically, emphasizes allowing people to speak out against whatever they want, giving them a safe and nonviolent outlet for speech that would otherwise be suppressed and internalized quietly. 

Furthermore, Stable Change, or 'Safety Valve', is important for people to feel like they are heard and valued in society. Likewise, it allows for ideas to get out there and be picked up if necessary. This site contains a multitude of opinions on controversial topics. It is an outlet for people to post their thoughts and opinions so that they can vent in a productive and safe way.

As for Marketplace of Ideas, its focus is on allowing verbal fights between truth and falsehood to take place, eventually resulting in the truth winning out and thereby making it stronger. The ability to speak out and work through any idea or opinion in America is very important, and such a core part of the nation.

Additionally, the Marketplace of Ideas is under threat, especially on college campuses, which used to be places of free thought and protest against poor decisions. Its importance to the progress and balance of the U.S. is vital.

The Most Personal to Me:

For me, the most personal values are Individual Self-Fulfillment and Promote Innovation. First off, Individual Self-Fulfillment is the idea that free speech allows people to create their own identity. Free speech allows people to voice their opinions and ideas about anything, meaning they can subscribe to any belief they so choose. The individuality from that is very nice to have, especially in a culture that is very controversial and seeks to shut down those it perceives as wrong via cancel culture. 

Like many people, I believe cancel culture is a terrible precedent to have in our society. It is a cultural blockage of people's opinions when we as a society should talk through these problems and controversies instead of shutting people down.

Individual Self-Fulfillment is the value that resonates most with me of the eight values. It is why there is such a wide range of people, and learning about different people is what makes life interesting. if everyone was mandated to be the same, it would be a lot more boring. Not to mention the riots that would inevitably happen because of the idea of Stable Change playing into it as well.

Second, Promote Innovation is the idea that free speech makes society more interesting because people are allowed to come up with unique ideas and express themselves in diverse ways. It allows progress to be made, both culturally and scientifically. Without it, we would still think Earth was the center of the universe. 

Values in Action Now:

Although they are under strain due to the aforementioned 'cancel culture', I believe Stable Change and Promote Tolerance are very important in our current society. It seems as though cancel culture is taking more and more of a back seat as people become less sensitive to new and bold ideas. Likewise, people are better able to express themselves by way of the internet through various forms of media content such as YouTube and Instagram.

The Founding Era

I did not know a lot about the Supreme Court previously, so the videos were very enlightening on not only the function of the Court but also some of the Justice's opinions on how it functions. First off, I had never considered how the power of the Supreme Court lies largely in the people's faith. A quote from the video stated that the Court gets its "legitimacy from the Constitution, but their power rests on public faith," emphasizing the role of the people in the government as well as why the Court is able to hash out even the most controversial of matters.

Image Source

The most important takeaway I got from the videos was that the Justices themselves look at every case they receive and decide whether the Court should review it or not. That fact is very comforting in that the highest judges in the government review every petition they receive. It also shows how connected the Court is to the country, even when it is detached in its decision-making.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court has a website where anyone can see the day's schedule, recent rulings, and even live audio of any current oral arguments going on. Although the Justices are interpreting a 200+ year old document, technology has allowed aspects of the Court to become even more public and accessible.

As for the most surprising thing I learned, it has to be how oral arguments are conducted. The Justices in the second video were very vocal about how they saw the arguments as an opportunity to hone in on their already established points, usually through questions they asked the lawyers. They even stated it was more of a dialogue between Justices than it was with the lawyers, which was very interesting to me. It completely changed the idea of a court I had previously.

Lastly, the video changed how I saw the Supreme Court in a lot of ways, mostly in that I had more context as to what exactly they do and how they go about it. More specifically, the idea of a dialogue between Justices, as mentioned before, altered my view, but so did the idea of "opinions" written by the Justices after a decision. One of the Justices within the majority of the ruling would be tasked with writing a legal explanation of why and how they came to that decision. What is really interesting is how other Justices, of either the majority or minority group, can contradict or agree with the first's opinion and add to the final document. These practices really changed my perspective on the Supreme Court and differentiated it significantly from the types of courts seen in shows and media.

Top 5 News Sources

1) Instagram: While it is not the most reliable or consistent source of information, it provides a view of how people see news. Their posts give their own perspective and are usually very obviously leaning towards one party. As someone who does not consume a lot of news, Instagram provides a good surface-level overview of current events. Likewise, there are generally enough posts of varying opinions to understand whatever the news is. For me, it has been enough to keep updated on what is going on in the world. (Instagram Mobile App)

2) YouTube: This source requires a bit more searching, but it is very easy to find short videos on new events, or even clips from news channels themselves. I put YouTube instead of a specific news station because I rarely use the same specific channel. YouTube provides easy access to a variety of opinions, usually in a short and concise way. (YouTube)

3) Windows News and Interests: A section of any Windows computer that has news and current events. I occasionally glance at it and see what’s happening. Like the other sources so far, it is only to get a general idea of what is happening just to stay updated. I use this source very occasionally but I could see it being useful for staying updated. (Tab On Windows Homepage)

4) Family and Friends: Since I don’t stay up-to-date with the news often, my friends and especially my family keep me updated with the major news. When I call home, my dad usually brings up the news and talks about what important things are happening. My friends, likewise, keep me updated with other kinds of news, such as new video games coming out.

5) New York Times: Occasionally, I will see or be sent something on New York Times that I will glance through. Usually I get details from friends or family that do follow the news, but when something really interests me I generally use the New York Times website to look further into it, or a random Google search for multiple sources. Specifically, my parents stay updated with the news and will send me stuff regarding important events. (New York Times)