speech theories & social media

 There are 8 values of free expression:

1. Marketplace of Ideas

2. Participation in Self Government

3. Stable Change

4. Individual Self-Fulfillment

5. Check on Government Power

6. Promote Tolerance

7. Promote Innovation

8. Protect Dissent

In todays blog I am going to be discussing how Individual Self-Fulfillment connects to the idea of social media and how this theory can help explain why we post certain things, comment certain things, repost certain things, etc.

Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, VSCO, ect. is a place for people to express themselves and post all sorts of things. This could mean posting food recipes, beach pictures, sponsorships, makeup tutorials, videos, and so much more. This gives us the opportunity to create our own identity and express our opinions about different things. You are able to connect with individuals who share common interests with you while even learning new things along the way. However, with this being said, social media is also linked with greater levels of isolation, stress, depression, egoism, and a lacking of social skills. Normally what is shared on social media is the positive attributes in your life not the negative. A lot of the times, people will start to compare themselves to other people they are seeing online which can led to negative effects. They might think they are not good enough, not pretty enough, not popular enough, etc. 

Going on more of a different topic, a very relevant thing in the world today is the black lives matter movement. Their has been protests in every state with thousands of people marching down the street expressing their opinions. Not only has it been shown in this form but also on social media. There have been hundreds of reposts on peoples Instagram stories of different BLM articles, pictures, and so much more. Over the summer there was a day dedicated to blacking out all of social media for BLM. Everyone would post a black screen and write up a brief captions expressing their emotions. People would also post a bunch of different pictures relating to police brutality, George Floyd, and violence. They were taking advantage of their right to free speech and expressing their emotions on the topic. 

Without the right of free expression, who knows what our world would be like today. It is so important that everyone is able to create their own identity and find kindred spirits in the process. We have to let people know what we stand for and what we believe in, because without that our society would be a mess. 

LINK: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/social-medias-impact-on-self-esteem_b_58ade038e4b0d818c4f0a4e4

Antiwar Voices?

 Is there a reason why the mainstream news never voices antiwar? Why do we never hear about antiwar websites?

According to a website called dissentmagazine.com, two of the longest wars in American history fully decline the kind of structured, constant opposition that appeared throughout almost every other major armed battle the United States has fought over the past two centuries. Most of the time members in groups such as Code Pink will get arrested for bantering at congressional hearings. Antiwar websites represent "clear houses" for debate and conversation. However, it has been a long time since any form of antiwar debate or protest has been expressed largely enough to gain public attention or concern. 

Spring Rising Anti-War Intervention: March 2015, on the twelfth anniversary of the invasion. Only gathered a few hundred people to the capital city, with no news about it on the mainstream media or press.

As emphasized in the article I mentioned above, the main reason for the antiwar movement is due to the enemies that the United States has been fighting since the plunge in 2001. 

Enemies such as:

-Al Qaeda

-The Taliban

- Saddam Hussein’s regime

-ISIS

It is hard for people to forget the fact that several nations could be controlled by avenging jihadists who regularly kill anyone who doesn’t share their severe belief while capturing women and forbidding them from attending school. 

Many Americans have become very tired and exhausted from these wars in the Middle East, however, this exhaust will not inspire citizens to partake in speeches, meetings, protests, or Congress.

LINK: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/michael-kazin-why-no-antiwar-movement-iraq

(Anti-War protest in Boston after the killing of Iranian General)

Post 3: Black Lives Matter in Relation to the Six Clauses

 

What is the black lives matter movement? It is a worldwide social and political movement supporting civilized misbehavior in protest against the conduct of police brutality and harm that is strictly racially motivated against black people.

What are the six clauses? The six clauses are the first six rights in the first amendment. 1) Freedom from religion, 2) Freedom of religion, 3) Freedom of speech, 4)Freedom of the press, 5)Freedom of assembly, 6) Freedom to petition 

When thinking about the first amendment and the BLM movement, freedom of speech goes hand in hand with this. People have the RIGHT to verbally express their opinions, and during some of these protests that is what people are doing, peacefully protesting. On the other hand, there are the people that are violently protesting which is not the answer. Because as we all know, violence is not protected by the First Amendment. Additionally, it was stated on mtsu.edu that these protesters are 100% using their right to assembly. There are marches in ALL 50 states and these protesters have drastically changed the public view about racial justice. 

As stated on mtsu.edu, "Any attempt to limit free expression must meet three requirements...

-Any regulation of free speech must be applied equally to all, regardless of their cause or message.

-The government must make any restrictions narrow and limited.

-Those who are prevented from sharing their message must have alternate ways to get the word out" (Ken Paulson).

The government is allowed to constrain and confine these protests but they have to make sure they are following the conditions stated above. 

https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/post/837/5-takeaways-from-the-black-lives-matter-protests

Post 2: The History and the Workings of the U.S Supreme Court

 To start off, the U.S Supreme Court is the leading federal court in the nation and is the top notch in the judicial branch. It has the final authority over all rulings and has to assess weather these laws are constitutional.

United States Supreme Court

When was the Supreme Court established? 1789 by Article Three of the U.S. Constitution

Judiciary Act of 1789: Congress being allowed to determined the organization of the Supreme Court. This act first expressed that and was signed into law by President George Washington. Basically this meant that the court would comprise of six justices who would serve on the Federal court until they deceased or retired. 

First Assemble: February 2, 1790---->This meeting was to develop structural procedures

***The early conferences were mainly revolved around this***

First Decision: Made on August 3, 1791 by the six justices---->West vs. Barnes

How are the Supreme Court Justices Nominated? By the President of the U.S and accepted or denied by the U.S. Senate.

The first Supreme Court:

*Chief Justice John Jay*

Associate Justices John Rutledge, William Cushing, John Blair, Robert Harrison and James Wilson.

Court Justices:

In 1869, Congress settled on a number of nine seats total which is where it has stayed today.

However, it has changed from five to ten, six times over the years

Honored Supreme Court Justices:

-John Marshall (1803)

- Charles Evans Hughes (1930)

-Earl Warren (1950s-1960s)

There are also some very important Supreme Court Cases that people should be aware of:

-1857 (Dred Scott v. Sandford): Court denying residency to African American slaves

-1896 (Plessy v. Ferguson): Court supported state segregation laws

-1944 (Korematsu v. United States): Court supported WWII captivity camps for Japanese Americans

-1961 (Mapp v. Ohio): Any evidence attained illegally shall not/can not be used in criminal cases

-2015 (Obergefell v. Hodges): Legalized same-sex marriage over all 50 states

Post 1: My news Sources

 In todays world there are so many ways to get access to the latest and most popular news. The list could go on and on however below I have listed my top 5 news sources and an explanation as to why I choose them.

1. Instagram: https://about.instagram.com/blog

I use Instagram on a daily basis. I use it to catch up on my friends and families latest posts and also to see what my favorite celebrities are up to. I follow an instagram account called lifeandstyleweekly, they post about popular news regarding celebrities and their latest drama stories. I find that stuff interesting and I enjoy keeping up with it all. I am also able to go onto my explore page and see topics related to movies & tv shows, style updates, health and wellness, and much more!

2. Twitter: https://twitter.com/TwitterNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Twitter is not only a great app to post your opinions/feelings, but it is also a great way to be informed on whats going on in the world. There is a category for "trending" which shows news stories about the top trending conversations on twitter. For example, right now when I go to the news trending tab the first three things that pop up are;

-Business & Finance: "People are rushing to invest in Apple and Tesla after stock split"

-US News: "One shot and killed as Trump supporters and counter-protesters clashed in Portland"

-US election: "Video of Any Barkan is manipulated to add words in a Joe Biden interview"

You are able to see the top latest news with just the click of a button. 

3. CNN: https://www.cnn.com

I have always trusted CNN news and I always rely on them to give their audience true and valid information. According to Forbes.com, "Among total viewers, CNN finished in second place in prime with 2.510 million viewers, followed by MSNBC with 2.266 million."

4. Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com

Pretty much everyone knows about Snapchat/has a Snapchat. We Snapchat our friends, family, family friends, co-workers, etc. We post pictures and videos of our life for our followers to see. There are also news subscriptions you can follow on Snapchat. I follow Cosmopolitan, YoutuberNews, Cosmo Stories, and Self. There are hundreds of other news subscriptions that people also follow, I just happen to only follow a few.

5. Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeednews.com

"BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media". A lot of their content is related to quizzes, pop culture articles, politics, the environment, DIYs, etc. Buzzfeed is more of a fun and entertaining news source. Not the most reliable because pretty much anyone can make a post, however it is still a fun site to peek around on.