Eight Values of Free Expression

     I found the lecture on the Eight Values of Free Expression to be very interesting as I had never heard about these before throughout my education. Each of the Eight Values of Freedom Expression are important elements of basic human rights. The value that feels most important to me is Check on Governmental power. 

In our political system, the most important aspect is the checks and balances that we have on governmental power. It ensures that no certain branch has more power or control than the others and keeps the power in the hands of the people and not one individual. These checks enables the freedom of the press, who inform the public about the potential abuses of power. The press keeps our checks and balances in line and keeps citizens aware of what is going on within the government which is important because we the people, have the right to know. 

The Value of Free Expression that feels most person to me is Individual Self- Fulfillment is also known as self- actualization, and represent the individual aspect of freedom of speech. Free speech allows people to express themselves in any way that they chose, creating their own identity in the process. This form of freedom of speech also supports the belief that all humans have the right to be whoever they want, emotionally, physically, and mentally. 

This feels most the most personal to me because something that many people struggle with is their identity and feeling as if they can be whoever they want to be. I feel as if this is something that everyone can relate to in their own way whether it is their gender identity or emotional identity, everyone has to find their own identity at some point in their life. 

Today, I see all of these Eight Values of Free Expression in action today, but the one that I notice the most is promote tolerance. Throughout the last few years, the promotion of all types of free speech has been very prevalent in the media. Although any type of speech is protected by the First Amendment, we take it upon our selves to deem what is socially acceptable and what is not. The media has been preaching the idea that a more tolerant society is a better one, which is what the value of promote tolerance is all about.  

In the world today, Individual Self- Fulfillment is prevalent in the transgender- rights movement. The transgender- rights movement is a movement to promote the legal status of transgender people and to eliminate discrimination and violence against them. These people have the right to express themselves and identify themselves in any way they would like. 

Individual Self- Fulfillment gives these transgender individuals the right to be themselves and receive the same human rights that everyone else gets. Individual Self- Fulfillment is not the only Value of Free Expression that is prevalent in transgender rights. 

The other Value of Free Expression that is prevalent in transgender rights is Promote Tolerance. This protects freedom of speech that we could find hateful and socially acceptable. In society today we see a lot of hate speech that was directed towards the transgender community in the past is now becoming socially unacceptable. As transgender rights are increasing and the normalization is increasing, more and more hate speech that has been deemed as acceptable in the past, is becoming socially unacceptable, providing a more inclusive environment for the transgender community. 

Overall, the Eight Values of Free Expression all serve as important aspects in the way we run society and are important elements. Freedom of speech and expression are important in our government because it is a freedom that protects the people of the United States. All Eight Values are prevalent in the world today in many different ways. 

images: https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/12/opinions/what-does-freedom-of-press-mean-opinion-stelter/index.html 

https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-lgbtq-rights-movement-wins-its-biggest-supreme-court-victory