Blog post #3: 8 values of free expression

    When looking at and discussing the eight values of free expression, it's important to become familiar with them and their meanings of them. As an American Citizen,  freedom of speech is one of the most important amendments. How are we going to have change and proper discussion and expression without the right to do so? You can't! Within these right values, it's important to remember why they exist, which is so you can speak freely. The value that really out to me the most was protecting Dissent. This is currently a huge issue within this nation as we are seeing a divide among people like no other. It seems as if you don't agree with the loud majority, you are shunned, banned from social media, and can even affect getting a job. A current example is the ongoing vaccine mandate debate across the United States. For example, Twitter has recently banned Republican congresswoman Taylor Greene for misinformation regarding Covid-19 and the vaccine. It's no secret that Twitter is a left-leaning company and because they are a private company, can block and ban those who don't align with their views. Is it ethical? I don't believe it is but can they do it? Yes, they can. Twitter has faced a lot of backlash from censoring people and many users are turning away from the platform. One of the biggest issues is that the government has changed its stance so many times on the Covid-19 policies and vaccines. Taylor Greene has had an opposing "minority view" and was punished when expressing it. I'm not saying all of her information is correct, but I don't see any issue with what she was posting. She is allowed to challenge the government norms of society and has the right to question them.  

My personal belief was that her posts were justified. Using websites such as VAERS has even become controversial in todays day and age. Not every submission may be approved, but it's somehow become a "fake news website" to the mainstream media. Before the Covid-19 vaccine came out, I knew many people who would often look at VAERS before making any medical vaccination decision to see what people had to say about adverse effects. Suddenly when a republican congresswoman like Ms. Greene references it for the Covid-19 vaccine, she has become on Twitter's hate list because it doesn't fit their narrative. 

Ms. Greene received 5 strikes before getting banned and one of which stood out to me was that Covid-19 was not dangerous and that vaccines shouldn't be mandated. There is a huge majority of people that would agree with this statement and it is a matter of opinion. Greene believes the vaccines shouldn't be mandated and yet because she expressed her opinion which a lot of people would agree with, that post received a strike. Twitter has been known for censoring a lot of people known as the "small minority" because their voices are typically silenced for going against what the majority or loud voices express. Protecting Dissent is so important because under the constitution, no matter how small the majority of people is, we have the right to present our beliefs and ideas. Through all 8 key values of free expression it's important to remember and reflect on why we have them implemented and what we should never be silenced from expressing. 

Blog post #2- Supreme Court

 

The Supreme Court is the most important court and is often used to help balance the United States of America and protect our freedoms. Without the Supreme Court, laws could be passed that go against our constitution and the American people can be violated of their rights. One thing I learned about the Supreme Court that I didn't know was how when the Supreme Court was first established, there were only 6 justices that served and over the years the number has risen or gone down from 5 to 10. Since 1869 however, the seats have remained at 9 and continue to do so to this day. Another interesting fact was how many justices have served over the years! There have been 115 justices who have served on the supreme court which was higher than I expected. The most important take-away point about the Supreme Court has to be how many major cases have been resolved that still to this day have such a big impact on the way we live. For example, when looking at cases such as Roe v. Wade and United States v. Windsor both focused on the right to have an abortion and focused on federal rights for the gay community. These cases are two examples of cases that went through that Supreme Court that dictate the way our society runs and the way we live. The Supreme Court has the power through following the constitution to make proper decisions based on the case at hand. Often, the supreme court will refer to a previous case and use that similar case as guidance for any new cases they get. The most surprising thing I learned was that the Supreme Court denied African Americans citizenship back in 1857. It's more of a shock factor that there was once a time in our country that our own Supreme Court denied people citizenship solely based on the color of their skin. The video and article opened my eyes to understanding the Supreme Court more as a whole as I often find myself learning new information each day regarding how the government in this country works.

Top 5 Sources of News & Information

 

One of the main sources I get my news involving politics and life events is Fox News. Although Fox News can be seen as a biased source that leans right, I always check Fox News because it aligns with my beliefs and I feel as if they aren't scared to report topics that the mainstream media will not. The network is very good at calling things out when they are wrong, but also good at providing facts from a different standpoint than what is seen in typical mainstream media these days. 

The New York Post is a news source I typically see when I Google something and I always find that it is a reliable source that doesn't sugar coat things or provide clickbait, but states accurate information. I use this for daily news events as well as political news. I have to say one of my favorite things about this source is their funny headlines. They aren't afraid of "offending" people like other sources are. They are just making news fun and giving fun headlines and providing factual stories. 

Twitter is a popular news source that unfortunately, often shares fake news. I used to use Twitter more for funny memes as well as looking at my favorite artists. However, I've now shifted to using it to keep up with daily news stories. If something is happening, Twitter sure will be talking about it. Almost all the "breaking news" I find out comes from Twitter. Even if it's fake news or opinionated, it's interesting and important to see what people are so upset or bothered about even if they have different beliefs from you. I stopped going on as much after they started censoring people for expressing personal beliefs as I feel that is extremely unethical and wrong. 

                                            

The New York Times is a source I use to try to sway away from getting biased news. I often find that the New York Times will report things moderately compared to other sources that swing one way or the other. I usually see articles pop up from the New York Times when I Google for information and I'll check there before during further research. 

I was born and raised on Long Island, New York. Growing up and still to this day, News12 is always on in my household. It covers a more local platform of news where we can see what is going around in our surrounding area from parades, events, crime, weather, and more. My dad is a police officer on the Island and actually got to be on News12 a few times to be interviewed for crime cases as well as providing information to the viewers. Ths source has been a very reliable source for me and one of my favorite things the channel does is each week is provide a list of activities or events happening on Long Island from concerts and plays to street fairs.