Media, Literacy, and Law have given me a lot of insight into the significance of the First Amendment, especially through the lens of the Eight Values of Free Expression. The First Amendment was written by James Madison in 1791, which protects the people to say, write, and protest their beliefs. This is easily the most important Constitutional right we have because without this we would all have to believe and act on the same things. Each of the eight values holds an individual meaning to the First Amendment and the Freedom of Expression.
Marketplace of Ideas
John Milton created this value, which suggested all ideas and opinions should be revealed, even the ones that are false because the truth will always win. More specifically, sharing both the truth and falsehood would always cause the 'truth will win'. I think this is really important, especially in this day of age because social media is the number one source of news. This leads to so many individuals famous or not posting many different things, whether it is celebrity drama or politics. Not only is there social media but also schools, I am surrounded by college students of all different ages and backgrounds, which means a lot of different opinions or views on things. Whether I believe it’s true or not on a specific topic, I still think it is really important for everyone to be able to discuss their opinions. This can also lead to opportunities to expand your knowledge and beliefs. The First Amendment obviously protects our right to freedom of speech, religion, and press, but John Milton's suggestions say the truth and falsehood need to be shared and expressed to further the truth.
Individual Self-Fulfillment
C. Edwin Baker introduced the idea of Individual Self-Fulfillment, aka Self-Actualization which suggests that each person should be able to express themselves in their own creative ways. So not only do we have freedom of expressing our words and beliefs but ourselves. As stated above I am a college student, which means I am still figuring out who I am, and what I want to do with my future, this leads to so many different character develops and maturity on how I act and maybe even what I wear. I know that my aesthetic has changed so many times in just the past 5 years. Even looking back 2 decades fashion has changed tremendously and some has come back in the past years. Self-actualization goes as far back to Psychology and how our brain develops over time. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, this is where we reach our full potential of who we can be and what we want to make ourselves. Especially in America, we are such a diverse country that seeing different cultures dress can be very educational, and for me beautiful. You're not always expressing yourself but also your culture. I know now that nowadays a lot of people like to express their identity or personality through the way they dress, which can be very important to how someone feels.
All Eight Values of Free Expression bring out small details in the First Amendment. These are only two out of the eight values, and it is really important to recognize how they all work together to allow this society to be as free as possible. Being able to have this much freedom with our words, beliefs, and actions
is truly a blessing.
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