Blog Post #3: Eight Values of Free Expression

The First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This has helped the United States of America emerge and evolve into the country that it is today. The freedom that has been given to us as American citizens sets America aside from other countries. 

The five freedoms that we possess are religion, speech, press, assembly and petition, according to what we talked about in class. The first amendment allows us to speak, be heard, and to listen which is important for each and everyone of us. As citizens of the United States we should treasure the First Amendment and put an effort into knowing, understanding, and valuing our freedoms for not just ourselves but others.

There are a total of Eight Speech Theories that scholars use to describe why freedom of expression is so important to us as Americans. These speech theories are so relevant in our life today because they represent the freedom that has been given to us just by being a citizen of the United States. The idea of free speech allows us to share our beliefs and opinions without fear. Although there have been struggles with this, most of the time we do have this free speech. After reading each of the speech theories, I believe that #4, Individual Self-Fulfillment is the most important because it correlates to an individual themself.

Individual Self-Fulfillment has a great deal of importance in our world today because we each create our own identity in different ways. The theory states. “ 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” (Eight Speech Theories). This allows each person the ability to create themselves and their own identity which I believe is a very important part of society. Each person's uniqueness molds us all together as a community. Freedom of speech allows each person to be their own self.

This directly correlates to the world we are living in today with social media at the core. The creation of social media has allowed those the opportunity to to share their thoughts to the world without receiving consequences. Social media is a way for people to voice their opinions and be heard by others. Although many people use social media to spread negativity including hate and misinformation, I think that the positives outweigh the negatives. Social media platforms are private companies so they can censor specific posts from their sites which removes the negative speech. 

This theory connects to a prevalent example from this past week, Kanye West’s social media accounts being locked due to his antisemitic and offense posts (Politico - Kanye West). For a person to express themselves effectively, social media should only be used in a positive manner. Being an American is all about freedom and right of expression, choices, and our life which we should not take for granted.