After learning about the emergence of the First Amendment, I can recognize controversy around the implications of this all throughout American history. Additionally, after reading about the eight values of free expression, there are a few that stood out to me as being most relevant today, which innately were the few that I resonated with the most. One thing I considered when reading these was which ones stood out to me as most important, or with the potential to do the most harm.
1) First, when looking at John Milton's Marketplace of Ideas, it is important to note that this is very relevant in modern America. Published in 1644, this pamphlet argued the requirement of of print media to be licensed for publishing. In my opinion, I agree Milton's opinion because the First Amendment allows for anyone to be able to voice their opinion without censorship. Looking at an example of this in recent times, if someone were to post their opinion on a new bill that Trump was trying to promote, and that comment wasn't able to post because the company required some for of licensing, that would be against Milton's idea.
2) Alexander Meiklejohn's Free Speech and It's Relation to Self-Government expresses the importance of government candidates being able to use free speech within their campaigns. Within this, Meiklejohn argues that candidates practice transparency and build better rapport with their supporters. A modern example of this is in an article from northjersey.com from September of 2024 outlining a situation that happened on social media during the Covid outbreak. In accordance with the CDC and governmental pressure, many CEO's (the article named Mark Zuckerberg) were pressured to censor the anti-vaccination opinions within their apps because it did not align with policy that was coming directly from the government. This goes against Meiklejohn's idea because in the 2024 election, the candidates should have been allowed to side with however they felt, but were instead pressured to agree with the CDC policy warnings.
3) This idea overviews Benedict Spinoza's Stable Change argues that allowing for everybody in the United States, including those that feel alienated, to have free speech could help mitigate some of the political and economic tension that arises. While this idea was introduced within the 17th century, in my opinion, it s still highly relevant today. Using social media as a modern example, people are able to connect through shared ideas and opinions, and it is often that sense of community that can foster positive change, versus resulting in hate. Although, it can be argued that while social media can be harmonic, it can also be very polarizing because the lack of in person confrontation can give people more freedom to speak their mind with no remorse.
4) The idea of individual self-fulfillment as it relates to free speech comes from C. Edwin Baker's Human Liberty and Freedom of Speech, which was a book about his thoughts and opinions regarding the betterment of the country in regard to the First Amendment. He takes a more philosophical approach to this because it is all about how freedom of speech can contribute to human dignity and overall harmony. In this article from Alliance Defending Freedom, there are named artists who have fought for the importance of free speech. This furthers the idea that without the freedom to express oneself, creativity and human dignity cannot thrive.
5) This theory is my favorite and one that I think is most important out of these eight. Vince Blasi overviews the importance of checking on governmental power in his article Checking Function of the First Amendment. In my opinion, this is arguably the most relevant take on the First Amendment because politics has swelled to become so polarized and filled with false information that it is important for the American people to be able to fact check the sources that they are reading. Additionally, as social media has grown to allow access to constant surveillance of information, it can become difficult to see that the government may be violating the First Amendment behind the scenes. This recent article from CBS news covers a hot topic that was about the Supreme Court's authority to censor social media apps. This is extremely relevant with everything that just happened with the TikTok ban, and furthers the idea of question the governments authority to censor these apps that promote free speech.
6) On a more empathetic note, Lee Bollinger introduces the idea of promoting tolerance through his book, The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech. I enjoy this theory because as an empath myself, I am always willing to look at things from another angle and try to understand opposing prospectives from my own. Through this, Bollinger is advocating for the protection of extremist speech for the betterment of the longterm outcome. Tolerance is relevant especially in government today, as opposing partied become more polarized.
7) Similar to the previous idea, Jack Balkin promotes the idea of free speech being able to cultivate innovation, as outlined in his Living Originalism. I agree with his idea because I too believe that people thrive more in a place where they feel comfortable having and sharing their opinions, no matter how different they can be from the majority. Sometimes in our modern dynamic within America, this idea can get lost within hate and resentment, so it is important to remind ourselves as communities that we are all valued.
8) Lastly, Steven Shriffin's Dissent, Injustice, and the Meanings of America connects heavily to the third freedom of expression by Benedict Spinoza. They are both emphasizing the importance of the opinions of those who do not hold as much power in communities. Time magazine wrote an article about the LGBTQ+ movement and how the proposed "Project 2025" plans would affect the progress made by this community. While this set of policies was deemed untrue, it helped rally this community and give them a voice, which is directly connected to this idea of protecting dissent.
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