Blog Post 3: Eight Values of Free Expression

Eight Values of Free Expression

In this next blog post, I will be reflecting on the Eight Values of Free Expression as how I personally view and interpret them. 

According to the article published by Dr. Dean Smith on his Blogger profile, he lists out all eight of the free expressions as interpreted by different researchers: Discovery of Truth, Participation in Self-Government, Safety Valve, Self-Actualization, Watchdog Role, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent. Dr. Dean Smith's blog post --> SPEECH THEORIES - Eight Values of Free Expression

From these, I will be going through each one and towards the end of the blog post, I will discuss which expression I resonate the most with, which one feels most important, which one feels the most personal to me, and which one I see in action today.

Discovery of Truth

The first of the eight values of free expression is "Discovery of Truth." A perfect way to explain this value would be through John Milton's interpretation, where he labels this value as the "Marketplace of Ideas." He suggested that when "truth and falsehood are allowed to freely grapple, truth will win out. And the grappling makes the truth even stronger." Milton made this argument when he was arguing "against requiring a license to print/publish" and wanted to make a point that truth will eventually come out and that needing a license to print or publish is unnecessary due to the idea that everyone will be able to discover the truth on their own and a license is not needed to help ensure that. 

Participation in Self-Government

The second of the eight values of free expression is "Participation in Self-Government," the idea that people in society can self-govern themselves and do not need someone to govern them in their everyday lives. Alexander Meiklejohn's article titled Free Speech and Its Relation to Self-Government best explains his thoughts on this. According to Dr. Smith's article featuring Meiklejohn's work, people in society can govern themselves in everyday activities but need guidance and leadership when it comes to political decisions and they need someone who is well-informed in political issues to be involved in debates. 

Safety Valve

The third of the eight values of free expression is "Safety Valve," which is best explained in Dr. Smith's blog post as stable change and how "it has been suggested that a society in which angry and alienated citizens are allowed to speak their mind, or 'vent,' will be more stable, as people will be less likely to resort to violence" to share their opinions or thoughts. Allowing those alienated groups to vent allows them to get their anger out, while also giving the government the ability to monitor those groups to keep track of potential threats or dangers within that group. 

Self-Actualization

The fourth of the eight values of free expression is "Self-Actualization," or described by C. Edwin Baker in Dr. Smith's blog as "Individual Self-Fulfillment". According to Dr. Smith's blog, "[f]ree speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity--and, in the process perhaps, find kindred spirits. Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency and autonomy." From this, one can draw the conclusion that it is deemed appropriate to allow people in a society the ability to express themselves and their identity as however they deem fit. With this, it promotes a healthy, happy environment where people feel accepted for who they are. 

Watchdog Role

The fifth of the eight values of free expression, "Watchdog Role" is also described as a "Check on Governmental Power," where people in a society feel stable and safe knowing that the press has freedom of speech and can spread information regarding a possible abuse of power from those in a governmental position. With that being said, the press and the public can technically 'check' the power of the government through this spread of information, ensuring that no one in governmental power violates the Constitution and does not cheat the system.

Promote Tolerance

The sixth of the eight values of free expression, "Promote Tolerance," discusses how the ability to freely speak allows people to build up a tolerance towards issues in society and "towards other aspects of life--and that a more tolerant society is a better society." Being able to gain tolerance towards, for example, hate speech allows citizens to learn "valuable lessons." 

Promote Innovation

The seventh of the eight values of free expression, "Promote Innovation," highlights how "[a] community in which free speech is valued and protected is likely to be a more energized, creative, interesting society as its citizens actively fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways." To add, the idea that promoting free speech allows for more innovation and creativity in people's makes sense. When people can use their creativity and skills openly without limit, they tend to feel fulfilled and content with that ability and due to this, can promote a better society as a whole. 

Protect Dissent

Last--but certainly not the least--of the eight values of free expression is "Protect Dissent." This eighth value details how beliefs and views from minority groups are protected and therefore, if one disagrees with the government, their beliefs are protected. The government will not pursue you with determination to change your mind, but will acknowledge it due to the protection of dissent value. 

My Reflection

Of all the eight values of free expression, the one that resonates the most with me would have to be the "Promote Innovation" value. I know that I really appreciate when I can be as creative as I like without limits and I personally can say that it does make my life not only interesting, but I tend to value it much more because I am allowed the ability to use my skills how I want. Without that power, I know much of my life would not be nearly as interesting as it is today. 

The one that feels the most important would have to be the "Watchdog Role" or the "Check of Government Power" value. I love to read science fiction novels, like Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 opened my eyes to the possibility of the government abusing its power and its citizens being not knowledgable about such abuse. However, due to the ability of the press having freedom to publish any information it wants, it allows the public to view any supposed abuse of power according to the press and check the government for it, relieving the concern of any abuse of power being unnoticed and unacknowledged.

Again, the one that feels most personal to me would have to be the "Promote Innovation" value. As mentioned previously, I hold my ability to be openly creative as very valued and without it, I would not only be boring, but so would my life. 

One of the values I see in action the most in today's society would be the "Self-Actualization" value. Especially with newer generations, the idea of expressing who you are and who you identify as has never been more encouraged and advocated for. 

Conclusion

Before reading about the Eight Values of Free Expression, I will be completely honest--I had no idea what they were, which is crazy because these expressions are used in our everyday life. I am proud to say that I now have a better understanding of our freedom of speech and how I am able to express myself. 

In my next blog, I will be sharing my findings for a project titled "Each One Teach One," where I display my findings on a specific piece of technology and how it impacted the world: The telegraph!