Eight Values of Free Expression
And the First Amendment
What are the Eight Values of Free Expression and how do they tie in with the First Amendment? Are there some values that are more prevalent than others? The news today is full of First Amendment issues and the issue of cancel culture, all of these values can tie in to current news. I will look to rank the values from most important to least important. Although I highlight the most important and tie it to a current event in the news. The ranking of importance is as follows;
1. Protect Dissent
2. Promote Tolerance
3. Check on Governmental Power
4. Marketplace of Ideas
5. Stable Change
6. Participation in Self-Government
7. Promote Innovation
8. Individual Self-fulfillment
While all of these may be important in our society today, I will focus on the first one and how it relates to present day and more specifically how it shows up in the news today.
1. Protect Dissent: To Protect dissent is to protect all views no matter how unpopular they may be.
Today more than ever we are faced with cancel culture and the desire to use mob mentality to hurt people that we disagree with. It states specifically that our culture is to not be one of mob rule which unfortunately is the most prevalent deciding factor in people's lives. I know many people myself that have been directly affected by cancel culture and it has ruined them to the point of seeking various outlets. Without disagreements and viewpoints we as a country would not be who we are today because it takes all kinds to make up one body. You are allowed to disagree with everyone including the government, but it is your duty to criticize the government and not your peers. There are no laws that state that you can't say this or you can't say that, but instead it is our culture that has made certain things wrong to say or do. The main issue that I have with this one and how dissent is not being protected is that someone disagrees with them and builds up the mob mentality to expose them on social media. Publicly shaming someone for something they said to the point where they lose a job or get rejected from their dream school isn't what our country was built on. We are allowed to dispute and disagree with others, we are not allowed to expose them or use mob mentality and cancel culture to ruin somebody's life.
Luckily for most of us we are not as exposed to constant monitoring and the spotlight like actors and actresses are. We have noticed recently all of the famous people being exposed for various things that they have said or done and it sets the wrong precedent. By cancelling famous people we are setting the bar and the picture that cancelling people is the right thing to do. Cancelling someone for something they did does not protect all views regardless of their popularity and is dangerous water that we are crossing into. One thing to think about is the power that famous people and athletes have to influence cancel culture.
One example of recent news that I want to tie into this value is the recent debate with Kelly Loeffler and the WNBA. We all know that the WNBA has their own values and controversial stances on current issues and this affected Loeffler who is a co-owner of the Atlanta dream. Because she did not agree with the mission of "Black Lives Matter" even her own players were in support of her opponent during the elections. Like many people, the organization BLM seems a little too radical and that is the case for Loeffler. Unfortunately because she lost the support of her own players and colleagues, many thought she did not have a place in the WNBA. Although she has not given up that co-ownership there is pressure from everyone for her to give it up. This is where the term mob rule comes into play, because she does not align with their values, they turned on her and now want her out. Since when did not aligning with ones values become enough to force someone to sell their part ownership in the company. This article ties back to Protect Dissent and protecting all views no matter how unpopular they may be. Regardless of whether or not you may agree with Loeffler and her values, they are to be protected under the First Amendment and the Eight Values of Free Expression. These athletes used the leverage that they had to play into the cancel culture movement, one thing athletes should never do.
Although athletes have the power to influence major events there are times where it is better that they sit back instead of trying to take a stand. Those involved in the mob mentality against protecting dissent often are not the ones directly affected by the event but instead want to publicly shame them. While there may be viewpoints that we often disagree with, it is better to sit back and protect all viewpoints instead of fueling the mob rule. America would not be America without Free Speech and Free Expression and we must stay true to our roots and the founding principles for which our founding fathers built this country on.
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/sports/basketball/wnba-dream-loeffler-warnock.html
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