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.