Eight Values of Free Expression

When speaking about freedom of expression, everyone in the U.S. can agree that it is one of the most important aspects of our country. With it being protected by the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, it will be kept in the United States forever. Freedom of expression allows citizens the chance to grow as a person and real their potential. It allows us to have freedoms regarding religion, assembly, petition, and expression. With that being said, scholars have come up with different ideas and thoughts as to why freedom of expression is so important to us Americans today. Here are some of my personal favorite ideas, and why I think they are important in today's society.

Freedom of Speech is the right to express opinions without government restraint. It allows us to express ourselves through anything. Books, television, radio, art, you name it. Freedom of speech grants us the ability to be creative and artistic in our own interesting ways. This is one idea that author Jack Balkin gave us in his book "Living Originalism". Let's take an example of the Democratic Republic of Korea, or otherwise known as North Korea. The North Korean government has put such strict boundaries on virtually everything you can think of, including freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and petition. They have tons of human rights issues that you would never find in a country like the United States. Their government will go after you and kill you if you are disloyal to the leader or if you try to leave the country. They have strict boundaries on what you can wear and what you say. This makes it nearly impossible to live a normal life in the country. Where I'm getting at is this is merely the complete opposite of what Balkin was saying. He believes that with freedom of speech citizens would live a more fulfilling and energizing life. People in North Korea don't live an energizing life which is filled with enjoyment and relaxation. No, the people of North Korea have to suffer from the terrible ruling of Kim Jong-un and his socialist dictatorship. In my personal opinion, that's not how life should be lived. Life should be about doing whatever you want, trying new things, and having no stress no matter what you are trying to accomplish, and that's what freedom of expression allows us to do. 

No person should be able to speak freely about what they desire without having the freedom to do that in the first place. People should be able to complain and vote against what they believe to be wrong. In Alexander Meiklejohn's article "Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government", he talks about how free speech is important self-government. This kind of topic ties into the last paragraph, where free speech would create an energetic and creative society, and can act as a "check" on the power of government, since citizens are free to criticize it. This shows the idea that self-government is not possible when speech is censored. If citizens cannot question their government's actions, then the chances of the government wanting to serve the people go down. This idea also ties into another certain idea of free expression, Protect Dissent. This idea talks about having a right to disagree with the government, and that you should always try and criticize the government. 

    Freedom of expression is so important in today's world in the United States. If us citizens did not have freedom of speech in this country, we would be 50 or even 60 years in the past in terms of technology and human rights. The ability to speak about whatever you want and not get in trouble for it by the government is an unbelievable power we have. The ability as well to have freedom of religion, assembly, press, and petition along with that is incredible to have as a U.S. citizen.