Blog Post #3: 8 Values of Free Expression

    There are eight different values of freedom of expression, these include, marketplace of ideas, participation in self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, check on governmental power, promote tolerance, promote innovation, and protect dissent. Each one of these has its own unique values however, the one that resonates the most with me would be idea number seven, promoting innovation. This stems from the fact that I am a creative person and I feel that innovation and creativity need more credit. For example, I am a graphic design minor and last semester in class we all created social action posters. This is when each student could take a cause that they are passionate about and make something that can get the point across to anyone by reading the sign. This idea is seen often in protests but often times people get yelled at about them or in trouble for standing up for what they believe in. This is wrong and needs to change. We need to listen and understand where people are coming from even if we don't necessarily agree with them. 

    While I do believe that promoting innovation hits the hardest with me I don't think that this value is overall the most important. Promoting tolerance stands out to me amongst the rest. This is based on the simple idea that everyone comes from different places and believes and sharing these ideas will create a more pleasant environment. According to John Mill, "The free exchange of ideas should be encouraged to promote the discovery of truth and enhance the cognitive facilities of individuals." This states that we should listen to the ideas of people and enjoy freedom of speech without limiting their ideas or shutting them down for their opinions. 

    As I mentioned before, I find that promoting tolerance is the most important and plays a huge role in today's society because everyone believes in different things. To build on this more we come across the idea that is the most prominent in today's world, protect dissent. Everyone has the right to criticize the government in simple terms. Nowadays, especially during the Hillary and Trump elections people have become very vocal about their views and what they do and do not believe is right. This resulted in many people criticizing and hating the government. The protect dissant value is all about this. Everyone has a right as citizens to criticize what the government is doing.

   In conclusion, each one of these eight freedoms of expression is important in its own way. Whether it is to enhance their creativity or criticize the government every person has a right to speak and listen to everyone's opinions. This is what the eight freedoms of expression are all about. While these theories revolve mainly around the government and politics these values can be applied to anything. These have taught me to be proud and stand strong with what I believe in whether I am the only one or no, and you should too.