The Eight Values of Free Expression

The First Amendment opens with, "Congress shall make now law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." This is one of the most important virtues to our country and we are fortunate to have this, along with the eight values that come along with it. The eight values include, Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Governmental Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent. These values are essential to upholding our rights within the United States because it gives us the freedom to question our government and express our true thoughts in an honest and fair way. Without having these freedoms we would not be able to refer to ourselves as a democracy and although we are not in a great position now as a country, it could be even worse if these freedoms did not exist or were revoked. 

Out of all eight values, the one that resonates with me the most is number seven which is, Promote Innovation. This value is all about being in a community in which free speech is valued and protected which would potentially lead to more creative, energetic, and an overall better society as people are always working on themselves. That ideology is something I feel like I could get behind and I would suspect that I am not alone in that. Personally to me it seems very productive and beneficial.

The value that I deem most important would be the Check on Governmental Power and it all goes back to the First Amendment. The government needs to be kept in check, just look at the state of the country right now! Our government needs to know when they are abusing their power and when they have crossed the line, and it is our job as citizens of the United States to uphold that. The state of this country is in shambles and we need to make sure that we as citizens of this country are doing our civic duty and are making sure that others are as well.

America has changed and evolved a lot throughout the years, and we are at a very different spot now than we were. There is a chance we could be going down a dark road to war, but there is always the chance that country could turn around better itself. That means we are going to have to work as a team but also advocate for ourselves and one another so we are holding ourselves accountable along with keeping the government accountable. We still have the chance to better this world for those that come after us and as long as we don't give up and tend to our civic duties, we can see the change that we want to see and truly have a better and beneficial society.