Blog: Eight Values of Free Expression
After reading through each of the eight values of free expression, a lot of different scenarios came into my head about different people in society demonstrating their right to free speech in a variety of ways today. In the year 2020, it is much easier to voice opinions, make statements known, and share your beliefs with your friends thanks to the help of social media. Various social platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook all have enabled society to capitalize on their right to speak out. The two values that I really want to focus on in this discussion are the ideas of Self-Actualization and Promote Tolerance. I believe that these two sort of work hand in hand, especially when it comes to the movements we're seeing take place in society today, which have a large following behind them on social platforms.
Thanks to our Constitutional first amendment right, every citizen has the ability to post their thoughts and opinions on their social media accounts. Today, we're seeing social media outlets flooded with clips from different news articles, videos, and audio bites revolving around the #BlackLivesMatter movement. It seems every single one of my followers is posting various pictures and information, trying to convince society to make a change. So much of this information is unsourced. There's no author or reputable person behind the screen, just someone making a social media post. Everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions but I think it's important to remember that just because someone posts something, doesn't make it true. How can we filter our social media so we know what's trustworthy and whats falsified? Is social media even a source we should be looking at for news updates? Should we let all of these differing opinions and stories shape our own thoughts? You open the app and you're flooded with different opinions, articles, and headlines. What do you believe? What is fact? What is stretched truth?
Using these social platforms are a prime example of the marketplace of ideas being put to work. Online, everyone is taking a stance and letting their view be known. Everyone online is exposed to a plethora of viewpoints and stances; many differing from their own, even in slight ways. This idea of individual self-fulfillment goes to state that "Free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identify — and, in the process perhaps, find kindred spirits." Everyone has the right to post what they want, whether it holds true to your personal beliefs or not. This leads me into the next value which I believe is relevant to discuss, promote tolerance. By being exposed to all of these different opinions, it allows for society to become more tolerant and understanding when encountering those who hold different views. What's currently going on with #BLM is a perfect example of that. I, by far, do not agree with the majority of posts circulating my social feeds. My view points differ immensely from a majority of my friends, and that is OKAY! Being exposed to their viewpoints and opinions through social media platforms and even through in-person conversation has helped to make me more tolerant and understanding of their views. Their valid points and arguments likely aren't going to change my stance, just like my viewpoints aren't likely to change theirs. However, through this exposure to a different opinion, it helps shapes me (and others) into more tolerant people. This is inherently good because a more tolerant society would lead to less violence and more understanding amongst differences.
I also read this blog/article post which just served as reassurance that many people, especially in my generation, are facing all of these differing viewpoints when dealing with their social media accounts.
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