When speaking on the eight values of free expression, two stand out to me as key principles for the continued success of freedom of speech in America. The ideas that humanity must promote tolerance and have the opportunity for individual self-fulfillment through speech stand firm in my mind as the most imperative as a forward thinking nation.
Progress and change scare a lot of people and that's totally okay, no one is saying that everyone must accept every thought process at face value without discussion or disagreement. However, the option for tolerance exists for Americans to grow towards a stronger and firmer people, in that growth is how we as a nation are able to compete on the global mainstage. What allows America to stand apart from the rest of the world is our ability to discuss and grow from discussion openly, stagnating in that only promotes a gridlock of debacles. As it stands, the political landscape of America has begun shifting in a not so innovative way. Our leaders are in direct opposition at any given moment and our people are not much better. On one end of the spectrum, people are concerned with people's feelings and what is right or wrong. On the other, people do not respect freedom as something that exists with boundaries or rules. Without those rules and regulations, that freedom shifts into anarchy. The debate has gotten increasingly more tense as people have misconstrued tolerance with acceptance. Just because you do not agree with a thought process does not necessarily mean that you have to accept it, just let it exist without persecution.
Without that tolerance people are not on equal playing field. Imagine existing every day being told that you're wrong for your passive behaviors that you have held since your conception. Racism, religious persecution, homophobia, or ableism all exist and they're not going away tomorrow but it starts at home. People raising their children in a modern framework hold the power to begin the eradication of such hatreds but why don't they? Answer, free speech. People are all entitled to their beliefs and opinions regardless of what a societal medium may attempt to tell you. In America however, our nation is founded on freedom of expression as well. These two concepts are difficult to balance as they are inherently the same yet fundamentally dichotomous. Freedom of expression comes along with a physical and behavioral additive whereas speech is surface level being the act of speaking.
The nation as a whole, is a beautiful melting pot but free speech is both the people's greatest tool and weapon. With speech laws, certain aspects are protected such as; one's capability to make money, the upholding of one's reputation in the public eye, and hate speech. In recent years with the development of cancel culture many people feel threatened but the central idea is try to be a halfway decent person. That said, its completely subjective. America is wading in dangerous waters. Where do we draw the line? On the left, many phrases and microagressions are now the ruination of people's reputations and on the other people want to be able to say genuinely offensive things. Policing speech is where fascism begins, controlling the news to reflect only positively of one side is dangerous. Limiting people's speech is dangerous. How can tolerance be executed without limitations? I will let you know as soon as we can come to a consensus. The era of information has brought about so many questions of how free speech can exist anymore. Cancel culture is both a way to allow freedom of expression but at the cost of a genuinely free speech. Comedy is dying and complaining is growing. Does this limit our society's ability to true freedom of expression? Maybe. Does the world really know how to make it work properly? Definitely not. Twitter has been around for less than two decades and has actually wrecked careers over things people didn't even think about prior. America is attempting to gain proper freedom of speech again with new limitations and that can either be seen in a positive or negative light but once again, it is completely subjective. Can there even be free speech anymore? If so, why do so many people feel so limited. We as a country will kind of just have to sit by until a general agreement can be made without Karens destroying your name on social medias. Below is the government definition of free speech in America. https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does
