The Eight Values of Free Expression are theories that help us better understand and promote our own self-expression as well as the First Amendment. Without free expression, society would not be as progressive as it is today. Expression is fundamental to the United States as we are able to express our human rights.
The Marketplace of Ideas resonates the most with me because it reveals what we believe to be our own personal truth. Growing up my parents didn’t talk about politics in our house, because they wanted me to find out what I believed by myself. It wasn’t until my junior year that I found myself surrounded by many classmates that had very passionate, and different viewpoints from each other. I then started looking online and began researching to form what I believed to be the “truth”. This allowed me to start talking about this with my parents and allowed me to learn more and continue to expand my knowledge of “right versus wrong”. I think we have all come across individuals that grew up in very politically opinionated households where their parent’s beliefs were strongly enforced on their own. I view forming your own beliefs as a very important thing as higher power has a heavy influence on our lives. The Marketplace of Ideas allows us to dig deeper and find what can really be distinguished as the truth. John Locke was the first to introduce the Marketplace of Ideas in his book the Areopagitica. It suggested that the theory would justify the truth of freedom of speech. However, in today’s day of age, the Marketplace of Ideas is heavily monitored and surveilled on the internet through computer algorithms that will then filter our other information that may not actually be considered to be the truth.
I feel as if Promoting Innovation is one of the most important Values of Free Expression. Innovation has created one of the biggest overall impacts on the world as it has allowed us to make the largest advancement in society. Every day, technology is advancing at a catastrophic rate and obviously faster than ever before. Jack Balkin, the author of Living Originalism which is considered to be the “owner’s manual for the Constitution” (Dahlia Lithwick, Slate). He believes that a society where free speech is valued and that’s protected by the Constitution will allow for a more creative and interactive society where individuals will use their abilities in a way that will forward the society in which they live. Could you, a college student, not imagine having a touchscreen phone right now, being able to post (almost) whatever you want on the internet? Freedom of Expression has played a very crucial role in the development of society.
Self-actualization allows us to fully realize our full potential and express ourselves which lets us create our own identity. I believe this is most used today due to the internet. The internet allows us to dig deeper and realize more about ourselves in many ways. With forming our own viewpoints online, following what we’re interested in and creating beliefs based off of what we see. I feel as if today, we are most aware of who we are as well as accepting those who surround us.
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