Free Expression

         Reading through the eight values of free expression left me feeling particularly attached to the first and fourth. These two values are the marketplace of ideas and individual self fulfillment. John Milton first suggested this set of values known as the marketplace of ideas, stating that truth will always win in the battle with falsehood. This ability to freely battle only makes truth stronger. This was his argument against requiring a license to print/publish. This argument is relevant even today, with people getting canceled/silenced on different platforms simply for sharing ideas. Very closely related to this is the fourth value, which is individual self-fulfillment. Enabling individuals to display their identity for others to see is a simple piece of human nature. That is why I am so passionate about these two values.  

It is very interesting and sort of comforting that these values have held up after so much time. The fact that we are able to look back on writings that are hundreds of years old and written by the people who set the foundation for this country is astonishing to me. The seventh value on this list, for example, proposed by Jack Balkin, even produces the idea that innovation is promoted by societies that embrace/reinforce free speech. Citizens, in this society, will seek accomplishment in varying areas. We can most certainly see this value today, with American citizens seeking to accomplish their dreams no matter the cost. I feel as though this idea is ingrained in our society so deep that it is near impossible to get rid of. 

https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/checks-and-balances

The speech theory that I think is the most important today is Checks on Governmental power. Every citizen has a right to learn about the past abuses of power by the government. With this information, people have the ability to promote change through the ballot box. If an issue has become so prevalent that it makes someone passionate enough to vote on it, it is up to that person to take responsibility and act. This speech theory is what gives us the power to make real change when the government is doing a subpar job. Political discourse has been relevant since The United States was formed, and I do not think there will ever be a time when checks on government power is not the most important theory. 

Although I do believe every single speech theory is important to some degree, it is hard for me to deny that some have more weight than others. The marketplace of ideas, individual self-fulfillment, and checks and balances on governmental power are all a league above the rest. These 3 theories are core values ingrained in American society, and without them we would be lost. I believe these 3 values will stand the test of time, and no matter what political struggles we face, we can look back at these theories to guide us. Most importantly, we can never lose sight of any of these aspects of free expression, as that will lead to a slippery slope in which everyone loses their freedom little by little. 

The Founding Era - Supreme Court

 

After reviewing Part I and Part II of the Supreme Court video, I learned several things about the Supreme Court that I did not know previously. I did not know that the average term of  a Justice on the Supreme Court is 16 years, with many serving even longer terms. I also learned that some members of the Supreme Court say that it takes 3-5 years of being a Justice to get used to it and to be able to do the job well. I was also unaware of the Dred Scott decision that deemed Congress had no power to ban slavery, a decision that is considered the court’s greatest self inflicted wound. One more important thing I learned about the Supreme Court from this video is that they receive about 7000 cases annually, and only accept about 100. 

The most important take-away point is the fact that the supreme court today has 200 years of history to view and acquire wisdom from. This makes the reviewing of the constitution both easy and hard. Another key takeaway is that it does not matter who you are when appealing to the Supreme Court, all cases they received are reviewed. The example used in the video is a prisoner writing his case by hand from his cell. This goes along with the most surprising thing that I learned from this video, which is the fact that each Justice decides their cases individually. As one of them stated in the video, they do their own work. I always thought that the Supreme Court all gathered with each other at the same time to decide cases, which is not the truth.

 I used to view the Supreme Court as extremely secretive, but after watching this video, I can safely say that is not the case anymore.  As one of the Justices in the video states, “a court has no secrets”...”the inside story of a court is there is no inside story”. Also, the judges have to wait for cases to be presented to them, they cannot propose solutions to problems the way other political figures can. This makes the Supreme Court seem more noble, considering they are willing to make decisions that no one else can.

Online Privacy

        Privacy in the modern era is a very important topic, and it comes with a large array of issues that affect not only yourself, but your friends and family as well. The TED Talk that compares the data that you willingly give to corporations such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, credit cards, etc. to tattoos really puts into perspective how permanent it is. Companies store this information for the long term, similar to how a tattoo lasts forever. Using the data that is collected and stored through deception techniques, these corporations can record your calls/conversations and share them with 3rd parties. 

Even more concerning is what information the police are able to collect through surveillance. Police departments are able to inexpensively store information of innocent citizens, such as photos of people simply going about their day. They are able to determine what dentist you go to, use license plate trackers to determine who is going where, and map out who is going to which neighborhoods, all without consent. City councils have the ability to govern their local police departments, and can get them to dispose of the stored information on innocent people. This is one of the possible government solutions to the issue. 

When it comes to protecting yourself from these invasions of privacy, there are a few precautions you can take using your cell phone. Ensuring you use tools that are secure and encrypted in order to communicate is one of these precautions. Luckily, Apple encrypts all of their communication relays by default, meaning the messaging app you use as well as FaceTime calls are generally safe and hard to decrypt. The simple fact that we have to worry about how to communicate with others using our phones is shocking and dystopian. 

Juan Enriquez TED Talk

Catherine Crump TED Talk

Christopher Soghoian

Finn Lützow-Holm Myrstad TED Talk

Top 5 News Sources

 1. My number one source of information online is Twitter. Twitter is effective in the way it shows you information, and often gives you multiple sides of a story depending on who you follow. Twitter is also very convenient to use, and Tweets are short and condensed, making the information easy to absorb. I would recommend Twitter to anyone who is just looking for a short summary of news. 

2. ESPN is my second top news source, purely because I like to stay updated in sports/football news. This includes trades, drafts, standings, etc. ESPN provides solid NFL coverage and I can usually find what I am looking for here. I would recommend anyone who enjoys staying up to date with sports news use ESPN to do so. 

3. My third news site on this list is Google News. Google News has the advantage of being very compatible with smartphones, and can be set up to show headlines whenever someone turns on their phone. Fair warning, reliable news from Google can be hit or miss, and it should not be ones primary source of information, nor should everything from Google be taken as fact right away. This is simply a quick, easy way to stay updated on hot and trending news. 

4. My number four top news source is simply my friends and family. Often times the first time I hear about some kind of current event is from friends or my family at some kind of gathering. I know what to expect when listening to some friends, depending on their opinions on certain subjects, but their information is conveyed clearly and often enough to be in my number four spot. 

5. My final top news source is Instagram. Instagram has a feature known as reels, which allows users to share short videos to their followers. News accounts on Instagram will often share short videos summarizing a story. These videos reach a large audience, as people can come across them just scrolling, not even looking for news.