Speech Theories

Eight Values of Free Expression 

Throughout Media, Law, and Literacy we discussed the eight values of free expression. They are market place of ideas, participating in self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, checking on governmental power, promoting tolerance, promoting innovation, and protecting dissent. These values help protect the government and us. It allows to share our thoughts about what the government is doing. These values outline why the first amendment is so powerful to Americans. 

Marketplace of Ideas 

Out of the eight values of free expression I think the most important one to me is marketplace of ideas. The value first came to be when suggested by John Milton. John was a historian, english poet, and journalist. His beliefs suggested that the opinions should be shown, even the ones that aren't true because the truth always wins. I agree with this idea because I think it is always better to tell the truth, and if you do good things will happen. He also believed that if everyone could speak with freedom then the best ideas would emerge. From doing research a quote I found that I think is a good example of marketplace "The theory is that if the government does not interfere, then shoppers will select the best products to meet their needs". The First Amendment protects our right of religion, press and the right to freedom of speech. However John Miltons ways state that only the truth should be shared and that falsehood should not be tolerated. 

Individual Self - Fulfillment 

The idea of self fulfillment was introduced by C. Edwin Baker. His idea suggested that people should be able to express themselves in their own creative way. I think that this is very important. As of right now I can see my future and I know what I want it to look like. However if you asked me this in middle school, it would be completely different. Over the years I have changed my interests. While doing this I am able to express myself creatively and freely. This can be related to the world in general today. Living in America there are many different people and cultures. People should be allowed to express themselves through art, music, food, etc. America is such a diverse place and can be looked at as a beautiful thing. As long as the ideas are used in the right way and don't get taken out of context. 

The Eight Values of Free Expression help to show the small details of the First Amendment. Marketplace of Ideas and Individual Self - Fulfillment are only two out of the eight ideas that stood out the most to me. I think that they show how our society could live as free as possible while working together. They are put in place to allow people to express themselves for who they are. I also think that sometimes these ideas are taken out of proportion and make it hard for them to actually do what they were made to do. 

The Founding Era

While watching the Supreme Court videos they gave me a lot of insight on how the Supreme Court plays a big part with our country. Although I did have some prior knowledge about what the supreme court was from things like history class, and hearing about it in the news. It is the head of the Judicial branch of our government and also is the highest federal court in the nation. Through watching the videos I learned a lot about the Supreme Court that I didn't know. To start the Supreme Court is composed of nine justices which serve for a sixteen year term. Another thing that I didn't know is that the justices work with hundreds of cases each week. Another thing that I didn't already know is that they receive around 7,000 cases, however only around 100 of them are chosen to be looked into them further. 

To add, the most significant takeaways I learned was that opinion writing takes up most of the Supreme Courts time. This takes them almost four weeks to write. Whenever I thought of the justices working on a case I never would have thought that they would be writing things out. I always imagined them debating it verbally. Something that was surprising to me was how much power the Supreme Court has. I knew that the Court had power over congress and the states. however I didn't know how much power they had over the president. They even have the power to impeach the president if need be. 

Since watching these videos I definitely have a higher respect for the Supreme Court. I have gained much more knowledge on what they actually do, and that they play a key part in our government system. I never realized how much time the devote to our country. Each justices goes threw a very intense process to become a member of the court. I think it is important too realize this and respect all of them with equality. 

My Top 5 Sources

Top Five Sources of News and Information

#1 Tiktok      

My top news source without a doubt is Tiktok. Tiktok is an app that I am constantly on. Although I know Tiktok is definitely not the most reliable source, it is usually a starting point for me. As I am scrolling through my feed I'll watch a video about someone reporting on something happening in the world such as politics, weather, celebrity drama, latest trends, etc. From there I will ask my family their opinion or look it up on a bigger platform.                                                                             

#2 New York Times      

My second news source would be The New York Times. In High School I remember using the New York Times to get information from their articles. I would use this to help write essays in class. Even to this day my dad will usually email me different articles that he finds interesting. I would consider this the only reliable news source I use. They have a very wide variety of topics that they report on such as politics, world crisis, celebrity news, etc. I also like their style of writing. I think it is very clear and easy to read. 

#3.  Family

Growing up I remember waking up to the news playing every morning. My family almost always has a show on today. My family and I share similar views on many different things. I always find out things happening in the world through them and then later will fact check it. However I do know that this news is definitely very bias, coming from a family with similar beliefs it's important to look into other platforms as well. 

#4. Instagram 

Instagram is yet another app that I am constantly on. Although social media isn't always the best source to find news on, many major news platforms do have instagram. Also through seeing what different things friends repost I am able to find out different things that are going on in the world. For example on nine eleven everyone was reposting different posts honoring the day. People also commonly repost different news about celebrity drama and politics. However since many people do have instagram, like celebrities. Most news that people are seeing from their platform is real because it is coming right from them. 

#5.  Google News  

Google news is definitely one of my favorite and reliable news sources. I like google news because if you search up something that you're interested in learning about it gives you multiple different sources. This is a great way to get unbiased sources because it gives you a very wide variety of sources to pick from. It also is very current. Most articles you see are written within the last week or even an hour.