Values of Expression post #4

    Free speech is an incredibly important right that we as Americans have and one that not all people around the world have the luxury of, with many consequences being put into place should you decide to say something the government does not particularly like, such as criticizing their governing body or their religion. In America, we can say how much we despise anything really, be it the government, the policies they make, a religion or even your neighbor upstairs who plays their music too loud and stomps on their floor till 2am, but so long as it is only you saying you do not like or agree with them. So no threats or anything of the sort. On that note, after going over some of the speech theories we discussed and reviewed in class, here are a couple of the ones that I like the most.

Protect Dissent

    This idea came about by Steve Shiffrin and was spread about via his book, Dissent, Injustice and the Meanings of America. This boils down to the fact that even if everyone else disagrees with you, your opinion is still protected from our right to free speech. There isn't going to be a mob at your door demanding you change your viewpoint if it does not agree with what the majority of people say. I think this one is rather important because being able to say what you want about any topic and not being persecuted for it even if everyone disagrees is reassuring. So it is not just the government we can say we disagree with, but even the people themselves, no matter how different your hot take is.

Check on Governmental Power

    Made popular and spread by Vince Blasi from his theory published by American Bar Foundation Research Journal, is one that I find arguably the most important. We have all heard about Watergate, Irongate and all those other gates that have put our government behind some kind of conspiracy or shown that they are involved with more than it may seem to the naked eye, which bring in our speech theory here. In essence, you are allowed to call the government out on it's BS as publicly as you desire. This can be any from newspapers, blogs, news from tv or even a podcast if you desire. Ant media source that you can post on can essentially be used to spread that word should you desire. This is really important because: 1.) you can not be persecuted for doing this so long as you are just spreading real information and 2.) it helps keep our government in check, hence the header. Last thing we want is a government that has too much power, and this perfectly made speech theory tells us just how right we are in doing so.

    So to wrap things up nice and neat, those are the speech theories I thought were the most important or at least the ones that stuck with me the most. I believe free speech is a luxury and one I wish some people did not get to use as they do but hey, they are just as entitled to their own opinions and thoughts just as I am mine, regardless of how sensible or senseless anyone's is.