Blog Post Three

Free Expression: 

    I will forever be grateful to feel like I live in a country that allows me to speak freely without consequence. Personally, I think it is so important to have comfortability with the way you express things and it is also important to surround yourself with people who allow you to express yourself the way you feel that you should be able to. 

    Of the Eight Values of Free Expression, the one that resonates most with me would be Individual Self-Fulfillment or better known as Self Actualization. This expression is noted to be creating one self by the way they express themselves. I hold myself to a certain standard when expressing the way I feel but also don't allow others to dull my light when I feel the need to express my beliefs. I do feel that I have a human dignity to allow myself to show myself through my words. I also feel that autonomy has some role in it, however I do believe in a higher government being able to see how others express themselves. 

    Within the Eight Values of Free Expression, I believe that the one used most today would be The Marketplace of Ideas Theory because how many people are uneducated and allow themselves to fall victim to others' opinions of politics and government-related topics. I grew up not really educating myself on the political topic and noticed that as I grew into college many people have their own opinions so when I did more research and have grown my mental capacity for the subject, I realized that the people around me also weren't as educated as they seemed to be. 

    However, along with the Marketplace of Ideas Theory, the Freedom of Speech world has drastically changed. The Eight Values of Free Expression that covers my next topic would be Check on Government Power. More recently, the government has implemented time, place, and manner rules that have restricted individuals to go about their "freedom" of expression. This has been shown in court cases and arrests currently, and for example, when the country is in national distress. These lines have been crossed by people which can get censored, fined, or even arrested. This has allowed many people to argue against the government for taking away their right to the Freedom of Speech.