Eight Values of Expression

Eight Values of Expression

On September 17, 1787 our constitution that we live by was ratified and along with it were Twelve Amendments. The First Amendment is an amendment that is talked about almost everyday on the news. It is the year 2021 and something that was made in 1787 is still in the forefront of our everyday lives. 

After reading the eight values of free expression I realized that there are many different ways people interpret the idea of being able to express themselves. 

The biggest one that stuck with me was Jack Balkin’s idea on promoting innovation. Promoting innovation is key to freedoms of expression and society as a whole because it is how we advance forward in every aspect of the world. Without the freedom of innovation, we would not have the ability to share our ideas and opinions. People who are passionate about things would not be allowed to express themselves in a way that they need too.

Society is evolving at such an astronomical rate that if we did not promote innovation we would be falling behind as a whole. Implementing new ideas and trying to improve old ideas creates a more energized society and more passionate society. The more that people are passionate about something the harder they are going to work.

In a study made by the University of Oxford, it shows that people who are happy or passionate about their jobs are 13% more productive than people who do not like their job. By promoting people to speak their mind and promote ideas that they think are successful, it helps create an environment that brings people more confidence.

The United States was founded on the idea of promising the citizens freedom. If we do not allow everyone to express themselves and promote innovation, then we are not using our rights that we have been given properly.

This builds on Steve Shiffrin's idea of Protect Dissent. Shiffrin states that it is our patriotic duty to criticize the government. No matter how unpopular an idea or thought may be, it should be heard and accounted for. 

We would not have a United States of America right now if it wasn’t for people criticizing British rule. Our country was founded on the idea that we have to criticize our government if we think they are not doing a good job. To quote Chelsea E Manning from the Guardian, “We are citizens, not subjects.”

Even though I may not be the biggest supporter of our previous President Donald Trump, I feel like Twitter suspending his account indefinitely is infringing on the idea that we are able to criticize the government.

Anybody and everybody has the right to criticize the government. So the idea that the President of the United States not being allowed to post on his twitter account is scary to think about. 

According to Pew Research, More than eight-in-ten U.S. adults (86%) say they get news from a smartphone. Pew Research also stated that 54% of Americans receive their news on social media. 

By prohibiting Donald Trump from speaking his mind on Twitter, we are silencing his voice to over half of the country.

Twitter may be a private company, but as social media continues to grow and play a bigger role in our lives everyday, something has to be done about this.

It is our role as citizens to criticize the government on issues that affect our everyday lives. One day it could be any citizen getting their opinions “suspended” by Twitter. We have been given a right to speak our minds and that right must be used. 

Our world may be changing everyday but the ideas written in the constitution have grown and stood over the test of time. The values of expression must be used in our everyday lives.