Values of Free Expression

                                8 Values of Free Expression

    In terms of the eight values of free expression, I believe that Stable Change resonates with me the most. I can totally agree that in our society today, there are many things that make people angry, and as a result of that we "vent" our emotions and feelings. If we speak our minds about the issues in our world, we will become a stronger and more united nation. This does not only include issues with our world, but regarding social media and socialization. Whether it be friends or family it is important that we speak up and voice our opinions so that we can lead by example and have an impact on others and society. It can go both ways in society and in someone's life. Your voice is very impactful and powerful. However, it can be brought up as a bad thing because it can become too powerful which can lead to violence and fighting which we have seen over the past few years.   

    The value of Stable Change connects to Promote Innovation because it describes that society is energized, and fulfills people in many diverse and interesting ways. If we use our voices and opinions, we will become a more powerful and upbeat, inclusive society than what we have now.  Promote Tolerance also connects to these two values because in order to have free speech, even if it is hateful and upsetting to others, we find it teaches us to be more tolerant of others, and being more tolerant leads us to a better society. We have seen in the last couple of years that we need to learn to tolerate others even though it may be hard at times, we need to have patience with others. This value will help us become a better society because we need to understand and accept others as they are. An example of this, is when we understand and accept various opinions of religion and politics. These are two ideas that we become violent or voice our opinions too strongly. This makes us not want to hear what other people have to say about religion, politics, or any topic of that matter because we think we are right. 

Thinking about what we talked about in class on issues with our society and how much social media is impacted tells a lot about how rapidly our world has evolved. I believe that the Stable Change and Promote Innovation theories are shown in action today because free speech and the ability to voice your opinion is a very significant ideal that I see every day. For example, social media is the easiest way to voice our opinions. Yes, it can be negative opinions at times, but it is an "outlet" for individuals to tell their ideas and voice opinions without being criticized too much.  If we all in a unified way, come together and speak our opinions and evoke change in our society, our voices will be heard. Our voices do matter and can make a difference. 

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is a very powerful system that our world relies on. According to the article about the Supreme Court, Its role is to make sure that each branch of government, (legislative, judicial, and executive) notices the limits of its own power. One thing that did stand out to me in the reading that I didn't know was the individuals that are involved in the Supreme Court in terms of officials. For example, Chief Justice John Jay, Associate Justices John Rutledge, William Cushing and others. From learning about the Supreme Court in school, I've never heard or learned about these individuals as they seem pretty significant. However, the most important takeaway about the Supreme Court are all the cases that were spoken about in the reading. These cases are very important in the government and in history. 

One of the cases that stood out to me was the Jim Crow Laws. The Jim Crow Laws are still being spoken about to this day. They were a collection of state and local laws that enforced racial segregation. This stood out to me because segregation still goes on today, it has improved from the 19th century til today but our society still targets African Americans.  This law denied African Americans the right to vote, get jobs, and education. It pretty much gave them no opportunity to succeed in life. This is a pretty terrible case that our past generation did to African Americans. However, I hope that our government sees this as an issue and is doing something to benefit this today. 

One surprising thing I learned was that the chief justice is the one who has the authority to write the court's opinions. I didn't know that, I thought it was the other people that are in the office. The reading definitely gave me a completely different perspective on the Supreme Court because it gave a deep overview of how it truly began and who are the important officials to know. I felt like if I just read the article and not a video I would have not gotten as much information about it as I would of. From reading about the Supreme Court, I realized that there is so much to know about our system of government. I am aware that I can have a better grasp of it and what it entails. 

Government Invading Our Privacy

  

As crazy as it may sound, the government is certainly watching everything we do. After watching one of Andy Yen's Ted Talks, I  realized how much they have on us. The government is always watching every move we take physically or what we do on the internet. I don't know about you, but I have come across dozens of advertisements and messages across any social media platform on my phone that pop up that I have either spoken about or looked up and immediately come up because they are tracking and gathering my search history to see what I would like and click on next. I have noticed that this has been a big issue, especially recently that has been occurring quite often. Not only is the government collecting data from individuals, but cops and detectives are on it too, and watch what people do. This can be very dangerous and is truly invading our privacy. 

According to an article by Jennifer Valentino- Devries, which took place in Phoenix, Arizona where detectives arrested a worker because of a murder case in town and they did so by tracking his phone. They took a step even further and made Google give them information on all devices from the man they arrested. They were successful and captured all the necessary information needed to close the case. This case itself is shocking that we live in a world where we don't have privacy over our phones. We are no longer safe.   

To change this, I believe we should protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy by periodically deleting or shutting down our phones and other devices that the government could be tracking at any time. That way, there is no connection between people's data and the government trying to take that away.  Another huge issue in how the government watches people is their location. Just by a person's location, you can find everything. Our locations benefit the government when they have to find criminals without people even knowing. In a way, it is a good system to find people but we have cops and careers for that reason where that is solely their job so that should not be needed. We need to protect ourselves before the government tries anything else to own us.

These issues certainly do affect me because I never know who is watching me or watching what I am doing on the internet. I want to feel comfortable and safe while I am on the internet, but in this case, I truly do not feel that way. I believe that we should have some privacy in our lives, and technology should be a big factor in that. Unfortunately, technology is so powerful these days and will only become stronger as the years go on. If I am on the internet, I want to ensure that my private information is secured, not having the government or anyone listening or seeing what I'm doing. One way to prevent this issue regarding the government is stopping all unauthorized information of people's privacy to any departments or major companies. They have too much control over people which needs to be stabilized somehow. I understand that this is a way to catch people who are not doing the right thing as another way of helping detectives, however, it is invading people's privacy to such an extent that needs to be stopped. 

My 5 sources of news

     There are many different sources and information that is available for us to access all around the internet. Such as news channels, websites, and social media platforms. I use social media every day and since I'm on it so frequently, I get all the updates and information that I need right at my fingertips. 

One application that I use daily is Instagram. Instagram has many accounts and pages for the latest news on shootings, politics, celebrity updates, and so much more. This social media company has been very successful for a while now and as they have updated their application throughout the years, other news media are able to create an account that allows them to share information about anything political, weather, or anything you can think of. However, people have to understand that not everything out there whether on the internet or any social media platform's information is correct. There can be false advertising or information all around the world. Therefore, I still rely on and enjoy this app because I am aware of what information comes across my feed that can possibly be not true. I'm able to connect with my friends, post things about me, and be ahead of anything that is happening in the world. 

Staying with social media, another source I use for information is Snapchat. Snapchat is a very popular app that gives you lots of information regarding the latest news, being connected with friends, and much more. Some information may be false just like any other platform or company, but since most of us have Snapchat we see a lot of the same news and updates every day that are brought to our attention. It is more targeted to the younger side of our world but is accessible to anyone. While we think we are trusted with this application, we still never know if the government is tracking what we are doing on it. However, despite that, I would recommend this source because it is a very social media friendly app and is knowledgeable. If people are interested in advertising or becoming an influencer, this is a great way to consume content at the start and to work your way up your career. Not only it is beneficial, but it is also a great way to connect with your friends all across the world no matter where you are which is pretty neat.   

On another note, CNN and other news channels will have accounts that will spread information, some of it is false advertising but for the most part, it is reliable. People should be aware of what is false knowledge that reporters put out there. However, I rely on it at times because, for the most part, it is reliable and will give me political updates. CNN covers all the latest information that is given to people in the United States. The Reporters and Journalists that work for CNN tell stories about what is going on in the world and what it means to people. In terms of my perspective, it comes in handy when I need to look something up for school or any project related to politics. I try not to flood my brain with tragic news and politics, but when I do I go straight to social media pages and get what I need from there. 

Another source I tend to use at times is NBC News.  I do get information about current events, ongoing issues in our world, or just the weather in my area. They tell the most current information that is important for people to know every day. I'm able to get everything I need into one new channel. One thing that I like the most is they don't share any political views or opinions that people will have different views on. They will give updates on political ideas but it does not force you to one side of politics more than the other.  If they did have this, it would cause a lot of viewers to go down and evoke controversy. It is strictly just about the everyday knowledge that one would need.  

In addition, another source I use at times is, Fox News. If I want to get information on the latest updates on politics and what leaders are doing, I will watch or search on the internet for my answers. This is a very accurate source for this kind of news where in this case reporters do give their perspectives and opinion on political views and how they think people should go about this. If you are interested and invest your time in politics, I believe Fox News is a great advocate for that. I would recommend this source to people who are interested in politics because this gives a variety of information and does not single anyone out no matter what party you are in.  It is very informational and provides you with everything necessary.