Eight Values of Free Expression

-

During my reading of the “Eight Values of Free Speech Expression,” I found myself deciding between two
values. Both of these values, individual self-fulfilment and check on government power, were very
important aspects of freedom of speech but represent two different perspectives. One side represents a
somewhat narrow focus on oneself and the ability to seek personal satisfaction in life. The other side
represents a more encompassing aspect of modern day issues that can be more than just personal.
I find it very meaningful and underrated to be able check government action simply by expressing
something to the world. In a modern day society, this has proved more valuable than ever. In the
United States, political activists take to social media for change. In many cases personal blogs and
social media posts have led to great change in laws and even the breaking of stereotypes. During my
senior year of highschool I realized this power that we as citizens have during a research project on the
Arab Spring. I was tasked with learning about Tunisia and why it acted as a catalyst for the rest of the
Middle East. For years in Tunisia, people had lived under a harsh tyrannical government. As I continued
my research on this topic I learned that the real reason change had not come prior to the 2011 revolution
was due to the government's censorship and strict control over the media. The people were either afraid
to share their issues or they did not have any knowledge about what the government was doing. The
President had almost complete control over all news outlets and social media platforms. This meant that
the only news people were receiving was from the government. The only time change truly came was
when the people took to facebook, the only platform that was not monitored, and began to share the
truth about the harsh rule of the Tunisian Government. The people were on their own in Tunisia's case
as the media was fully controlled. This was an important example to me of the power we as citizens have
to make change. The president in Tunisia was forced to step down and flee less than a month after the
protests began. I think the United States has a lot to learn from a country like Tunisia regarding how
blessed we are with the rights we have. As citizens we have the power to rise up against the government
and check their power. This was the foundation of our country and has remained a key factor in the
United States success. 




Sources: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Jasmine Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica,
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Dec. 2019, www.britannica.com/event/Jasmine-Revolution.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Online Presence

-
Image
As a teenager living through the booming age of technology and social media, I myself am a big user of social media. I have used just about every form of social media- Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, Tik Tok- the list goes on. I use social media as a way to check up on my friends and family to see what they are doing, and I also follow a few celebrities that I consider to be role models. Social media started as a fun way to pass time, however millions of people are now obsessed with it. People are constantly checking their phones for notifications from their social media and spend hours on it at a time. I can even admit to myself that I have accidentally spent more time than I wanted on social media because I get caught up looking through so many accounts.   People’s social media pages are basically giving a shallow explanation of who they are- or who they want to be. The content of the posts depends on which site you are posting on. For example, I
Read more

How Technology & Social Media Has Affected Our Society

-
Image
In today’s society, technology has become an essential part of people's everyday lives. People cannot go a day, let alone a few hours without checking their notifications and social media, myself included. Even when my phone does not buzz with notifications, I constantly check it, anticipating some sort of interaction with my friends. In Sherry Turkle’s TED talk, she talks about how technology has negatively impacted today’s society. People of all ages in modern day society are addicted to their phones, and because of this people have lost social skills, changed who they are, and use technology for companionship.  Sherry Turkle has been doing research about technology and its effects on our social skills for years. Through her studies, she found that people prefer to talk over the phone and through social media rather than face to face interactions. During her studies, she found that an 18 year old boy said, “someday, someday, but certainly not now, I would
Read more

Diffusion of Innovations

-
Image
One of the more recent innovations that has become adopted is touch screen electronics, specifically the iPhone. This new technology could be represented by the diffusion of innovation theory as it has in recent years become a product owned by over a 100 million people in the United States. This product obviously was not an immediate success, it took many years for innovators to market, perfect, and change the product to fit the needs of its users. In 2007, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone to the public. This product was designed to maximize efficiency and condense the needs of other electronics into one. Early adopters gravitated to this product due to how different it was compared to everything else on the market. The iPhone was almost fully touchscreen, something people had not yet seen before. However, this new technology was not immediately accepted. One of the most personal examples of this was my father. My father always used his Blackberry phone (competitor of t
Read more