Eight Values of Free Expression

    The United States of America is unique in that it is one of few nations that allow and even encourage criticism of the government. For example, Germany prohibits any kind of hate speech or anti-Holocaust rhetoric. While it is obvious that any kind of pro-Nazi content is both harmful and is deserving of negative consequences, the United States does not outlaw this speech. The First Amendment protects the freedom of US citizens to say anything, but not from consequences to those actions. For example, if a person said something insensitive about Jewish people to a group of friends, it is likely that they would be ostracized and corrected. Being legal does not mean ethical, and according to the idea of promoting tolerance, if words should not be tolerated then they will not be in a social setting.

    As an even more extreme example, North Korea controls all radio, TV, and Internet usage. It is very difficult to get information in and out of the country,  and often the US will lose track of American journalists trying to collect data. The Eight Values of Free Expression that are so valuable to the US completely do not apply there. I may feel that the United States is filled with chaos most of the time, but I do appreciate the freedom that we have protected by many laws here.

Participating in Self Government

    One of the most important freedoms that is part of the First Amendment is the one to Participate in Self Government. Not only do citizens of the United States have the ability to vote for their representatives and executive leaders, but they also should have an informed choice. I recently have turned 19, and so have not voted much, but I have participated in a school board vote and a class president vote. I tend not to vote unless I have gathered information to make a choice, since if I went to vote without this knowledge I would be basically picking randomly. Before the school board vote, I knew I was voting for one person in particular, since I knew her in person and I believed she would greatly help the district. However, the website with the information about the candidates had crashed, so I abstained from voting for the other positions.

    Of course, this is the point of Presidential campaigns. Presidents will come and visit states to try to get them to vote, and they do this by informing the people about what they stand for. People tend to vote for the candidate that they have heard the most about, and this results in a government that the citizens are the most pleased with. The words "the government gets its power only through the consent of the governed," demonstrates the importance of being informed upon voting. When people are happy to be governed, they will follow laws and be otherwise cooperative.

Protecting Dissent

    In a similar vein, the idea of Protecting Dissent is something that no government should operate without. This is very true especially today, as no matter who is in charge people will criticize. However, this is a feature, not a bug, of the United States government. The government should aim to maximize the contentment of its citizens. If people were censored for speaking their opinion against the government, then the government can never improve.

    I feel that the ability to criticize the US government is an important one, especially today. The upcoming 2024 election will cause a lot of discussion, inter-party and intra-party, which is good for the direction of power. With the presence of social media, it is easy to gain information about possible candidates, and also to voice dissent. As someone who was ten days too young to vote in 2022's primary election, I have been waiting for this opportunity for a few years. Some issues that are personal to me are women's reproductive rights, as well as immigration in general. It is then, as a citizen, my job to criticize the government's failings in these areas, as well as vote for the person who I feel will represent my ideals the best.

    I am grateful to be born in a country that prioritizes the freedom of its citizens in as many aspects as possible. I hear about the atrocities that happen to those under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party, where citizens cannot access un-censored Internet and are heavily surveilled. It is difficult to find information about the exact workings of the Chinese elections, but they do not have the same free speech ideals as the US, and therefore the citizens are likely not as informed as they should be. I feel that everyone deserves to live in a country where informed criticism and voting is encouraged rather than outlawed.