Starting with the first expression, the "Marketplace of Ideas," I think that it is important in terms of printing/publishing one's own original thoughts because everyone has a voice and those voices should be heard. No one should be required to have a license in order to publish/print their thoughts for the world to see. As John Milton once said, "The truth will win out." The second expression talked about our participation in self-government. It suggests that people will not make informed decisions on who to vote for if the candidates do not have a free and open debate to clearly express their views and what policies they are focused on. I think this is true, but it also up to us, as the voter, to go out of our way to get the information ourselves. With the internet being an everyday tool, it is easy to go online and look up what each candidate represents and what they advocate for, versus a two-minute talking point one saw on a live debate. In my opinion, it would be better to go look up who one will vote for versus watching a debate because they do not have enough time to clearly express their thoughts and go in-depth about them during these debates. The third expression, "Stable Change," I think is a healthy way to hear the cries and pains of the minority communities. The third expression states, "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." The fact that we have this in place shows that our country cares for those who feel outraged and wants their voices to be heard so we, as a society, can work to fix those issues. The expression of "Individual Self-Fulfillment" is the fourth expression and it is what gives us our own identities, the way to be able to express ourselves however we want. The right to freedom of speech under this expression is labeled as an aspect of human dignity, human agency, and autonomy. The fifth expression, "Check on Governmental Power," is one of the most important expressions, in my opinion. This is because the public can become aware of any scandalous situation the people in power are a part of and if we, as a society, do not like that; we can always vote them back out of office. "Promoting Tolerance" is the sixth expression where it generally talks about what constitutes free speech versus controversial and incitement speech. Freedom of speech would generally make anything you say protected by law; however, if one were to use speech that would incite violence then it is no longer protected under the first amendment. The seventh expression is about "Promoting Innovation" which explains that a society with free speech has the ability to elevate that society to produce more energized, creative, and interesting citizens. The last expression "Protect Dissent" is mainly to eliminate mob rule and make sure that those minority concerns are heard and met. There is a lot of this going on around in our country right now where mob rule is taking over in many aspects of our life and I fear for the future of our democracy.
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