Blog Post #4- Speech Theories & Free Expression

 

Free expression is one of the most important things we have as Americans. We have the right and ability to truthfully and fully express ourselves about anything we want. The First Amendment explicitly states these freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, right to assemble, and right to petition. Our first amendment rights are arguably some of the most important in the Bill of Rights; with the rise of social media and private social media companies, people have become complacent with these rights and comfortable with violations of them. We must remind ourselves of the importance of these rights and call out the violations of them. There are a few different theories about speech that help us discern the different areas that our free expression is most important in as well as how they may be violated in those areas. 

There are eight different values of free expression; some may feel more important depending on how you express yourself on a daily basis. I am currently a college student which is a time for me to start truly expressing myself. When considering which values I find important, I resonate with the values of promoting innovation and tolerance. We should be able to use our speech and expression to be more creative and reach our goals in all kinds of ways. There should also be an encouragement of tolerance. If there is no tolerance, we would not be allowing everyone to freely express themselves. 

For example, social media is a beautiful tool that we can utilize to express our ideas and create to our hearts content. People sometimes say things that are perceived as problematic, like publicly endorsing a political candidate that is commonly disliked or making a skit that majority of people do not find funny or maybe even think is offensive. However, we should build a tolerance to these things and allow people to express themselves. Even if their statements are harmful or insensitive, censorship can lead us down a path to the end of free speech. The tolerance theory should be considered carefully. We know acceptable behaviors and should express ourselves in the confines of that, but still have the option to express ourselves freely. As a college student, stories of free speech being attacked on campuses across the nation is quite concerning. It is important to know about these theories of speech so that we can protect them wholeheartedly. 

Sometimes we can use these theories to help us better think about situations and events that are happening in the real world. More recently, there has been a lot of disagreements about current political figures in our government and the actions they are taking. It is not only our right, but also our duty to hold our government accountable and keep them in check. As Americans, we have every right to express ourselves about politics and every right to speak against our government if we feel they are doing wrong. This goes beyond a simple tweet bashing a political figure. We have the right to organize and protest if we feel the need to. Free expression is a powerful weapon and tool that should be not taken for granted.