The Eight Values of Free Expression

The Eight Values of Free Expression is a list of some of the ways free speech is important to our society. Here's some of my opinions and impressions while reading through the list.

If I had to choose, I believe that Protecting Dissent is the most important value here. Being able to challenge popular or government-encouraged views without legal consequences is an essential part of free speech. Historically, places where the government couldn't be questioned or criticized without legal consequence were not nice places to live. It also links closely with the idea of Stable Change, where if people are able to properly express their dissent in a meaningful way, it could "get it out of their system" to prevent more extreme measures from being taken down the line.

The Marketplace of Ideas is an interesting one to me, since I believe that the idea that truth will always win out against lies is questionable at best. In reality, people tend to flock to information that best affirms their existing beliefs, rather than a genuine search for truth. However, by no means does that mean that the government should be able to censor false information (especially in situations where "true" and "false" can get pretty complicated). I think Twitter has the right idea with Community Notes, where users can add clarification to or "correct" a potentially misleading post without altering or censoring the original post, and it encourages viewers to do their own research.

 Things get more complicated in general wherever social media is brought up since, as private companies, they aren't obligated to uphold the first amendment. Censorship and fact checking on social media as a whole is a pretty contested topic, but I won't spend too much time on it since it's a different discussion entirely. 

Personally, I think that Promoting Tolerance seems like a bit of a misnomer, since the value isn't saying we should all be forced to just tolerate hateful or otherwise inflammatory ideas, but rather seems to be more about being able to see such beliefs openly and uncensored so as to have meaningful discussions about and, if necessary, criticism of such beliefs, which overall is more productive than outright censorship.

A recent issue that's been on everyone's minds lately is the TikTok ban. Though I never used TikTok myself out of data usage concerns among other reasons, I acknowledge that people should have the freedom to make their own choices regarding their privacy and what companies they're willing to conduct business with. One source proposes that the ban might not be such a bad thing, citing improvements in productivity and social life, but deciding to distance yourself from the app should be a personal choice, not one made for you by the government. This aligns with the value of individual self-fulfillment, where people have the freedom to choose how and on what platforms they can express themselves and receive information others have shared. 

Although I think it's probably not the best idea from a practical standpoint, I do find Americans using their right to expressive action to flock to Rednote in protest of the TikTok ban somewhat entertaining. But then again, who cares about questionable terms and conditions when trying to prove a point?  

These values prove why free speech is so important, and there's many examples of each one in everyday life and news.

What I Learned About the Supreme Court

What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

One thing that's interesting that I didn't know is that the court receives over 7,000 certiorari requests a year but only accepts around 100 per year. I'd be curious to learn more about what goes into deciding what goes to the Supreme Court and what doesn't. 

What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court?

One big takeaway about the supreme court that I got was that the justices are both united and divided at the same time. They are all in it for the goal of providing justice, but they all have different beliefs and interpretations on how that should be done. Justice O'Connor even mentions having ways that they avoid holding grudges during disagreements in their discussions.

What was the most surprising thing you learned? 

I found it surprising that there has only been a little over 100 supreme court justices in all of American history, and that their terms can be decades long. They'll often continue serving long after their appointed president's term. The oldest Supreme Court judge was 90 when he retired.

Another really surprising thing is how long it takes for the justices to feel comfortable within the role, with some saying it usually takes between 3-5 years to start feeling used to things, and throughout the video they'll often deflect questions to someone who's been there longer, as if even they still don't feel fully qualified to answer it. I suppose that being in such a powerful position, having such humility is important to being impartial. 

How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

Although the statement was called into question in the video, I liked the idea that the Supreme Court is always getting better because they can study its past decisions as reference for modern decisions. Matters like abolition are no-brainers to us now, but were serious, bitter debates at one point in history. 

Another thing I never really considered, is that the video talks about how the supreme court is more connected to the people, since they have to answer to requests directly from the people, than say the president, who has more freedom in deciding what issues he wants to address and when. One isn't inherently better than the other, just different needs for different roles. 

My Top 5 Sources of Information

 Although I don't have any particular traditional news sources (Fox, CNN, and the like) that I follow, here are some of my favorite places to get information on various topics from: 

1. Instagram

Instagram is a place where I can follow various accounts posting on topics of my interest, such as Team Wolf, a page that posts news on wolf conservation, accounts from game studios posting updates, as well as keeping up with High Point clubs and organizations. I'm on Instagram fairly often, hence the #1 rating, however this is what I use mostly to stay up to date with more "fun" topics, typically focusing on more serious ones elsewhere. 

2. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great platform for staying up to date on more professional matters. Here, I can see industry news, follow connections' activity, follow specific companies, as well as directly view and potentially apply to job openings.  

3. Discord

Discord is the primary means of communication in many of the HPU clubs and groups I'm in. Although it's mostly used to communicate things like club meeting topics and special events, it can also be used to share helpful guides, industry news, and even job postings. It's an easy and accessible way to communicate to large groups of people, and I've even had a class held online through Discord's call feature.

4. YouTube

YouTube specializes in almost exclusively long-form videos, typically favoring longer in-depth discussion of various topics. If I'm not mistaken, monetization policies encourage creators to make videos at least 10 minutes long. Here is a great place for reviews, commentaries, and breakdowns of things I like such as movies and video games. Videos can be anywhere from minutes to hours long, although I typically favor videos in the 10-30 minutes range. 

5. Google

Although I don't typically actually click on and read them, I do get suggested articles and sites every time I use Google (or any other search engine for that matter, but I mostly use google). Although this isn't a common one for me, it still felt worth adding it to the list.

I don't really have conventional news sources I follow, which according to this article puts me with 62% of US adults. I mainly just use these various platforms to stay up to date on topics that immediately concern me.