The Eight Values of Free Expression

 Introduction:

The people of the United States of America all share one thing alike, no matter what. We all have the freedom of speech and expression to speak and write our ideas out to the public and have them be heard. That's why the First amendment is so important, as it is there to protect the eight values of free expression.

These values, in order, are Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Governmental Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent. These all play a role in our everyday lives, and come up in the news every day, whether we recognize it or not! 

Addressing the Eight Values of Free expression:

        When it comes to the Eight Values of Free Expression, I find the sixth value, promoting tolerance, as the one that resonates with me the most. As a member of the LGBTQIA+, I value freedom of expression, and especially tolerance, greatly due to its importance of who I am and what I believe in. The community often comes under fire from many groups, and I have for one seen the people who try to shut down Pride celebrations. A few months ago, I attended Greensboro Pride:

with some friends and had a wonderful time celebrating and embracing who I am, but as we rounded a street corner, we were met by protestors, who in their defense, have every right to protest the celebration. However, these protesters were shouting rather offensive words, blocking walkways, and making threats. In those, I was unable to enjoy my celebration due to the stress and worry that had been caused by those, which could've been solved through the use of tolerance.

While both groups may not agree with one another, if we both tolerate each other's beliefs, it may lead to more peaceful and understanding interactions with one another.

The values that I feel are most important to me are Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Promote Tolerance, and Protect Dissent.

I have already spoken on why Promote Tolerance is important to me, but for Stable Change, I believe everyone has a right to be upset, and while people's language can be very harmful, I believe that Benedict Spinoza makes a great point in that it leads people away from violence.

Individual Self-Fulfillment is important due to its integral part of being human, having the ability to speak your mind and create your own beliefs and identity.

And finally, Protect Dissent, because we deserve to criticize the government, as that is our job and duty as an American citizen

                        

When it comes to the Free Expression Values that I see today, I see many examples of Stable Change, as shows like Saturday Night Live (SNL) run skits criticizing and making fun of current government officials like Donald Trump, and don't receive backlash from those government officials.

The same applies to users on the internet who have been making memes of JD Vance by photoshopping his face and morphing it into different formats to make fun of him.

There has been no takedown of these memes by the government, because they are following the Stable Change value. This can also fall under the Protect Dissent value, which also supports the criticization of the governments and its officials.

Conclusion:

We must hold strong to the First Amendments and its values, as that is one of the key parts that allows us to have the freedoms that we do in this country, and is a right that we must protect.