Eight Values of Free Expression Post

Out of all of the values of free expression, the one that connects most with me would be individual self-fulfillment (self-actualization). The concept of individual self-fulfillment is implied in the Constitution's protection of individual rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe free speech is so essential in this country because it enables individuals to express themselves and create their own identities. Expressing oneself is personally very important to me; I think it emphasizes individualism and standing out in a very competitive incoming generation. In the United States, you are encouraged to be independent, thinkers and express your opinions, and ideas freely, which means everything to me as someone who wants to write/give my opinions for a living. 

Additionally, I believe this value is crucial because expressing oneself can be a powerful tool for personal growth and self-discovery. From my personal experience, by exploring one's thoughts, feelings, and ideas through self-expression, individuals can gain a better understanding of themselves and their place in the world, which I think is even more important for teenagers like myself. The last thing I will note on why this value is so important to me is the fact that it promotes creativity and innovation in society. I my view, American culture values this, and by expressing oneself, it is a way of tapping into one's creative potential. You see, in culture, that art, music, and other forms of self-expression are celebrated and encouraged in American society, which I think is fantastic. 

An event I believe that is relevant to this value is Twitter no longer enforcing its COVID misinformation policy. This policy, as we discussed in class, was used to silence people across the world who questioned the media narrative around the COVID-19 virus and its treatment options. To make matters worst, it was the government enforcing the censoring, not the private section, that is, Twitter. This directly goes against the 1st Amendment and the idea of self-actualization. By censoring people's ability to speak their minds about a pandemic, it creates doubt in their heads that something is being hidden from them and just leads to more speculation and fear overall. In my opinion, this policy Twitter had was a well-intentioned effort to address the serious problem that is the spread of misinformation, but the policy was not implemented effectively, leading to unintended consequences such as the censorship of legitimate information and opinions. 

Other social media platforms did this as well, which caused a bigger-picture problem, censorship of any kind, including censorship of COVID-19 information, is a direct violation of freedom of speech. People should always have the right to express their opinions and share information, even if others disagree with it or it's completely wrong. Also, a problem this censorship had was impacting public health in a negative way. Censorship of this magnitude on all these social media can prevent people from accessing important information about the virus, such as how to prevent the spread, which could lead to an increase in cases and deaths. Lastly, censorship can stifle scientific debate and hinder progress in the development of effective treatments and vaccines. Throughout history, scientific inquiry has depended on the free exchange of ideas and information, which was prohibited by this censorship.