Eight Values of Free Expression

 When I dug into the first point that talked about the Marketplace of Ideas, I learned that it meant the truth makes people strong.  After understanding what this value expressed and meant, I felt as if this was spot on.  I agree with this value and how it presents itself.  The second of the eight values of free expression was Participation in Self-Government.  I learned that this point discussed free speech, and its relation to self-government ideas.  I agree with the idea of having debates, however not 100% sure I agree with the point that mentions that citizens will not always make wise and informed choices within an election.  I feel as if this goes against the points of it being an election, and it being the people's choice.  The third point that I learned about was Stable Change.  I read points such as human beings shouldn’t be able to vent and show how they feel.  I feel as if the government enjoys censoring how they feel and their freedom of speech.  I find this unfair to the people because we are a free country, so they should be able to talk and speak how they want to, within reason.  If the government steps in too much, this then takes away the idea of “freedom of speech.”  After the stable change value, I then read about Individual Self-Fulfillment.  It discusses how people are free to express how they feel, and so to do what they want.  I strongly agree with this point because I am one for letting people show how they feel, again within reason.  I have no problem with people expressing themselves as long as they aren’t breaking any sort of laws.  I may not like it, however, this is America, I’m pretty sure people may not like how I act.  The next value that I read about was Check on Government Power.  Within this value, I learned that this is a process that checks the Government to ensure that they aren’t abusing these high powers against the citizens.  After watching the news and with some previous knowledge, I understand that sometimes people get involved too much with the power that they have, therefore which leads them to abusing it.  Next, I went over the value of Promote Tolerance.  This point talked about how we build tolerance for people who may be coming at us with words and such negative vibes.  I like how the first amendment right is there to protect US citizens against hateful speech.  Promotion Innovation looked at how free speech is looked at in a positive way, such as by being creative and interesting.  I feel as if this allows people from all different viewpoints to be able to interact with one another while learning from each other's ideas.  Finally, I looked at Protect Dissent.  This point explained how minorities should be able to have a say within this also.  The first amendment also protects the people of minority views.