BLOG POST #3

EIGHT VALUES OF FREE EXPRESSION

There are Eight different Values of Free Expression. These include Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Governmental Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation and finally, Protect Dissent. 

Upon reflecting on the Eight Values of Free Expression I think the few most important are, Individual Self-Fulfillment (freedom of speech), and Stable Change ("venting"). I think when people are able to freely express their opinion it's easier to expand new ideas and hear other people's inputs on situations when having a clear discussion. Individual Self-Fulfillment feels most personal to me because I always refer to it when having a discussion. Freedom of speech is something many individuals, including myself value. Just think about what life would be without it. You would never be able to voice and tell others how you feel. Essentially, there would be a lack of freedom without it. It is very easy to see in everyday life as well. Without the freedom of saying what we feel, discussions would be pointless. Especially when handling situations regarding relationships, or generally in school. As for society, it would be unfair to be unable to state our opinions or have any sort of freedom. 

Stable Change is very similar to Individual Self-Fulfillment. It is stated that being able to speak your mind will lead society to become less likely to resort to violence. 

To connect these freedoms to more of an outside source, it can be easily compared to social media which many people today utilize. To elaborate, anything you post on social media whether it be, Instagram or Twitter you have the power to post your thoughts to the public, or your followers about how you're feeling. 

The seventh value of free expression is, Promote Innovation. The values of being in a community where free speech is valued in a creative way make it enjoyable for citizens to be able to fulfill themselves in numerous ways. Posting images on Instagram can be an example of this. Sharing an idea, or something you value in an image can be a very creative way of sharing an opinion. To use a real-life example, climate change is a problem many people are concerned about today. To bring awareness to this idea many people post about it whether it's an image or thoughts turned into words in a comment. 

These photos and captions bring awareness to ideas that are happening around the world today. We can value freedom of speech and are able to post how we feel about a particular idea to rise to a conclusion. We can thank social media for this as well so many other people can become engaged and bring new ideas to a given situation.