Values of Free Expression By Olivia Moran

 When reading over the Eight Values of Free Expression I found the most profound out of the group to be number three which reads as follows, “Stable Change (aka Safety Valve) — see Benedict Spinoza, Tractatus-Theologico Politicus; It has been suggested that a society in which angry and alienated citizens are allowed to speak their mind, or "vent," will be more stable, as people will be less likely to resort to violence. It has also been pointed out that allowing the alienated and discontented to speak freely enables government to better monitor potentially dangerous groups who would otherwise act more clandestinely. Ultimately, it is in the government's own self-interest to allow such venting.”

Without letting that take up all the words required and the minimum amount that constantly knocks at my brain. I find that this value exhibits the idea of what the world would consider a therapist, with words used such as, rant, stable, and alienated. This leads to many different ideas and if government involvement or the First Amendment is even supported by this value. I ponder if the First Amendment is supposed to tribute to peoples’ feelings, the short answer is no but the long answer is yes and that is where everything gets confusing. We have seen time and time again that people question that very theory such as, Gitlow v. New York.

Humans get more complicated by the minute and yes, somehow people make cases for their bad days, and sometimes they just need to talk to someone, this in turn brings up the idea of health care. Without getting too off-topic I want to bring in a lyric from a song. At the risk of this not making any sense the lyric reads, “Why are there terrorists, what if they just saw a therapist, changed their ways, and moved to the Americas,” this is from Questionnaire by Chris Webby. If you get the chance to listen to the rest of the song I will tell you that it still remains one of my favorites when I heard it whilst working in the back of a Chipotle. Anyway back to why I even brought that up in the first place, well if you reading this you probably don’t need me to tell you that it is a thought-provoking question

    Tracing back to the idea of ranting and free health care and all the ideas that are little chance of happening. If all people were able to talk to someone at all times there would be a lot more therapists but also a crisis and it may overlook the people who desperately need a therapist but who else is going to listen and give trained feedback? Surely not the government, as sad as it is, they don't have time to contribute to people of the public. Whether all those ideas came out to one big mess or in some way you followed along I am going to move on to the Second Value of Free Expression that made a true impact on me and to save us both some headaches.

Number four reads, “Individual Self-Fulfillment ( aka Self-Actualization) — see C. Edwin Baker, Human Liberty and Freedom of Speech; Free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity — and, in the process perhaps, find kindred spirits. Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency, and autonomy.”

When reading this my brain immediately turns to, and for lack of better words, hippie idealistic. By this I mean yes, everyone should have their own qualities and ideas who make up themselves and I do see a lot of that in this generation, Gen Z if you will. I find this to be the most accurate value of Free Expression when it comes to currently in action today due to the fact that everyone can speak their mind as long as there are no threats to harm themselves or anyone else. My thought directly goes to an example of a peaceful protest even though those are hard to come by nowadays. I imagine someone standing on an old soapbox with an elegant speech to make higher-ups see that the people want change. No matter what you stand for or speak out about it is your own, your words are individualized to you which could be one of the reasons plagiarism is found upon. I find myself trailing off again but I still cannot fathom what it would be like if I could not say what I wished to during class, publicly, or even in the confines of my own friendships.

Overall, I find it truly inspiring and liberating to see that with all the negativity around this country for basically my entire existence that freedom of speech remains one of my closest allies.