Values of Free Expression

    Without the First Amendment, we would not have the right to express ourselves freely. The First Amendment gives us the right to be who we were meant to be and say what we want to say to get our points across. If we didn’t have this right, we would not be the people we are today, and I don’t want to imagine the sad world we would be living in without it.

    There are Eight Values of Free Expression that we went over in class. Out of the eight, promoting innovation best resonates with me. As a college student, I thrive best when I'm being listened to and my opinions are being heard. In class and while attending club meetings, students are encouraged to give their opinion and speak out when they feel necessary. Of course, being a college campus that shall be within reason due to respecting others and such. As a member of Circle K, I enjoy seeing everyone so excited when we are coming up with new ways to get involved on campus and volunteer out in the community. Without this type of encouragement from my professors and other students, I wouldn’t have the voice I do to state my opinions and questions. I feel as though the whole point of earning a college degree, other than receiving the actual education, is to connect with others that have the same interests as you and bounce creative ideas off each other to better connect with your surrounding community. The independence and free speech you have in college are nothing like high school, so the time spent at college should be about exploring and innovating new ideas to help better yourself and your education.

 

    While all eight of these values are important in some way, I believe the most acknowledgeable one to every American should be to protect dissent. We have a right to disagree with what actions our government is taking. Protecting dissent gives us the right to protest and argue our side of things because I believe it is important for the government to observe how we feel about a decision. I agree that there are not a lot of people with even some basic knowledge of what goes on in our government, but that doesn’t give them the right to shut us out completely. For example, the Willow Project was approved, and we Americans are not happy about it. All over social media people are speaking out and putting up petitions to stop this disaster. For a problem as big as protecting our environment, we need the right to speak out in hopes that our government will listen and stop something so terrible from continuing.

    In my day-to-day life, not only do I see protecting dissent, but I also notice the 6^th value, which is checking on government power. This is very important and necessary for our government today because they are constantly making our country worse and committing illegal acts. More times than not our government has abused its power, especially certain presidents. For example, Donald Trump was making a profit off of his presidency. He used his power as president to promote his businesses, and it worked in his favor. Issues such as this one need to be checked up on by both the news and us Americans to ensure our government is doing what it should be doing for our nation. 

    Another value I see in action today is individual self-fulfillment. Essentially, this means that we have the right to free speech that makes us who we are. It sets the foundation for our identity. This idea is more straightforward and that everyone deserves the right to free speech because it defines who they are and their liberties. The right to free speech is a big part of our lives and it is so overlooked because it is something that just comes naturally to us. 

 

    The First Amendment is a huge part of our lives, and it seems upsetting knowing that not many people are aware of all its characteristics. These values of free expression are a part of our everyday lives, and we don’t even notice them most of the time. The values, unfortunately, aren’t always being paid attention to so it is our job to notice when something isn’t right and speak up about it. After all, it is our right to speak up when something isn’t going the way it should and fix it before it is too late.

The United States Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court in the United States hasn’t had the best reputation the past year for overturning Roe v. Wade, yet I think people still tend to forget how important they are for our nation. Those 9 justices spend their time reading and examining nearly 7,000 cases a year. The Supreme Court has given us many major decisions throughout the years such as Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson. Without the Supreme Court, our government and our people just might go power crazy, and we need our justices to keep that from happening. 

    Being a Criminal Justice major, my first CRJ class dove into the Supreme Court a little. I know the basics but there is still a ton to learn about them and what they do. While reading through the article, SCOTUS History, I learned a lot of new things I did not know previously. I learned that their first term ever in 1790 was spent focusing on certain procedures before taking any cases. Their first case was West v. Barnes, which involved a farmer who owed money to a family, and it created a financial dispute. The last thing I learned was that the chief justice presides over impeachment trials against the President of the United States. This just happened recently with President Donald Trump; however, he was acquitted. There’s always more to learn about the Supreme Court and the justice’s roles in government. 

    There are not many things that surprise me about the Supreme Court, yet there were a few things in the SCOTUS History article that did. While I knew about the most important cases in history, I was surprised to learn that Earl Warren, the chief justice in the 1950s and 1960s decided on a bunch of these cases. He decided on Brown v. Board of Education, made the Miranda rights set in stone, and even got rid of interracial marriage constraints in Loving v. Virginia. Additionally, I was shocked to learn in the video, Comm3390 Supreme Court, Pt.1, that the Supreme Court justices do all their own work before convening to relay opinions off of each other. I was also surprised to learn in the video, Comm3390 Supreme Court, Pt.2, that the attorneys, when presenting a case to the justices, only have 30 minutes to tell their side. This is exceptionally hard when justices have their own opinions and can be asking completely different questions. They may even be asking questions to throw off another justice's opinions and persuade them to get on their side. Government can be full of surprises and it’s hard to notice them until you dig a little deeper.

    The video, part 1 and part 2, changed the way I see the justices on the Supreme Court. I’m not sure why, but I always envisioned them as very robot-like. I saw them as emotionless and very work driven to the point it didn’t seem like they were real people. However, that couldn’t have been more wrong. They are very dedicated people, to say the least, yet they do show emotion and act like normal humans. Ruth Bader Ginsburg even stated that her first time speaking made her extremely nervous like I am when having to present something to the class. During their interview, they would laugh and smile and it showed me that they are not cruel and lifeless people as I once thought. These justices on the Supreme Court may be a bit controversial in their decisions, but they are human so they should be treated the same as others. 

    Overall, the U.S. Supreme Court is complicated and tricky to understand. However, we must realize how much these justices have done for us. They spend all their time working on cases and deciding what is best for this nation's people. It is important we have people like them to keep our country afloat and standing. Without our Supreme Court, we would fall apart as a nation, and that is the last thing we need or want.

Are Our Lives as Private as We Think?

    In today's world, we are constantly surrounded by new and improved technology. Who is to say that someone is or is not watching us through our laptop cameras or observing what we buy online to gain more information about us? We can only hope that there is some privacy with passwords and two-factor authorization, but there isn't much but some letters and numbers keeping anyone out of our personal information. 

    I shouldn't have to watch what I say out loud in hopes my electronic devices won't hear me. If I so happen to mention an upcoming trip my family is taking or if I bring up wanting to try a new perfume with my mom, my phone begins to give me all the ads in the world for trips to Florida or the new Gucci perfume that just launched. It is not only my phone that listens, but my laptop, Amazon Alexa, and other such devices. While these ads just seem creepy and suspicious, there isn't much actual harm with them. However, does this mean I can't read out anything important to my parents? I can't let them know my driver's license number if they need it or even my social security number or else someone could steal my information. It seems that the only safe way to give someone information nowadays is by writing it down on a piece of paper and tearing it to shreds afterward. If we are surrounded by technology, which is hard to get away from, it is most likely listening in. How can we possibly feel safe knowing that every part of our lives is being recorded and stored? Christopher Soghoian talked about ways to avoid this type of surveillance by securing messages and calls. The devastating truth is that this is only one example of probably millions as to why we don't feel like private citizens anymore. The even sadder reality is that this problem isn't going to be fixed anytime soon. 

    Privacy is something nearly everyone, if not everyone, wants, and it is something we are human beings should deserve. I don't want random strangers stealing my information, let alone anyone else. This is a major issue as scams have become increasingly more realistic looking. Just a week and a half ago I had to verify with my mom that a text message I received about a package being returned because of an incorrect address. I am not the only one going through such problems. My mom and stepdad had someone hack their banking information not once, but twice. Additionally, my sister and I have been good about what we put on the internet. Juan Enriquez states in his TED talk that anything you post online is considered your electronic tattoo. What you put on the internet can always be traced back to you and it can't go away. It still exists even when you delete it. That's why we need to watch what we put online because it could later affect us. For example, posting an image of you drinking alcohol underage can affect if you get a job you've been wanting forever. No matter who you are, you can become a victim of privacy invasion and you must watch what you put on the internet because it may cause future issues.

    Another way that we are being tracked and traced is through surveillance through the police departments. Catherine Crump observed how police can track license plates and locate anyone with the use of cell towers as long as they have their cell phones on them. This can be seen as imposing on civil liberties, and I agree with that. I don't need anyone to see my location at any time because that isn't anyone's business but my own. What could they possibly need that information for? The only way I can see myself agreeing with this form of invasion is when a crime is committed and police need proof of the suspect. As a Criminal Justice major, I see it from this standpoint, however, it still doesn't make it completely moral. When it comes to police knowing your location, it is personally hard for me to side with right or wrong.

    While all of this information is scary, I think the scariest part as a young adult is the risk of partners posting innaproatiate content online. Darieth Chisolm shares her story of when this same incident happened to her. Chisolm's partner had revealed private and sensitive photos of her online as revenge, and it ultimately destroyed her. This is all too common throughout college. While this is possible for men to become victims, women seem to be the main target. We may not completely know why this happens, but it can be the most disastrous. Once this type of private information is leaked, there may not be a way to come back from it. To protect yourself from situations like this, don't agree to anything you aren't comfortable with and watch out for possible outcomes such as Chisolm's. We must always watch out for ourselves before pleasing others.

    The strongest thing we have to protect our privacy is the fourth amendment, which protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures. However, this is limited and what is currently going on is apparently seen as legal and fine. The government should be doing something about our privacy. The amount of information spread about myself is probably astronomical, yet I don't know how much is out there. Our government should be protecting its citizens from these problems. 

    If you have a life and a cell phone, it is pretty hard to, if not impossible, stay completely private. The most we can do is to watch what we say aloud, watch what apps we download, be sure to read the terms and agreements, and watch what we post online and on social media. We should try to set difficult passwords and maybe try to download apps that can possibly protect our information even just a little bit more. Technology is all around us and attempting to be a completely private person just isn't possible nowadays, no matter how hard to try.

My 5 Favorite News Sources

    I am not a person who ever reads or watches the news unless I absolutely need to. It isn't ever interesting to me and half the time I either scare myself with the real stuff or spend my time telling myself it is all fake anyway. The sources I often use or happen to see information on the most are TikTok, radio stations, local news channels when I am back at home, The Weather Channel, and lastly, asking friends and family.

    TikTok, being just any social media site, should not be somewhere you go for accurate and true information. Trust me, I don't go seeking out truthful information in this app, yet I find a lot of claims daily. It is one of the apps I am on most, so of course, I will see tons of information displayed across my page. When I do see information on TikTok, I don't often believe it. If it is, however, an interesting claim, then I do further research to examine it. When I come across certain stories or major issues happening all around, they tend to pop up more and more on my For You page. I don't always watch them but sometimes I get drawn in. TikTok is not where I go to get all my information, but it is a good jumping-off point for me when I see a claim that is interesting to me.

    It has been a while, but a main source of information I used quite a bit was listening in on local radio stations. I don't have any type of fancy car so, for a while, I listened to the good, old-fashioned, radio. I was always switching the channels back and forth depending on where I was and what music I was interested in listening to that day. There isn't much news talked about on the radio anymore, yet it was still a source for me to understand what big local events were happening lately such as the local chicken BBQ and tractor shows. Every once in a while I'll listen to the radio, but certainly not as often as I once did.

    Being at High Point, I don't have a TV, let alone cable, to be able to watch the news if I even wanted to. When I am home, especially in the winter when my grandparents stay with my dad, we watch a lot of local news, WNEP 16. As I would get up for school in the mornings, the news channel was always on. I never really paid attention to it until I sat down for breakfast and I would learn all about the latest house fires and a possible kidnapping a few towns over. Or was it just a child custody issue arising? Like I said, I was never a news person. I go with the flow when it comes to that stuff. I only listen to the news channels when I am not allowed to change the channel on the TV or when something huge is happening and I should be listening in. 

    The news I often come upon nearly on a day-to-day basis is The Weather Channel. I have the app on my phone to pay attention to the weather and how to dress accordingly. The Weather Channel app often has news stories regarding huge storms like tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, and even mudslides. I don't watch these videos often, yet if one draws my attention, then I will watch it. These videos are from all around but mostly contained in the United States. When it comes to real news sources, The Weather Channel is my most used source.

The last, and most common source of my news information, is the use of family and friends. Since I don't always go out of my way to look at the news, I often find out information from my family and sometimes friends. When my parents, especially my mom, hear scary news, they instantly come to my sister and me and tell us about it. My mom brings up every topic and will talk your head off, even if her facts aren't completely accurate. My dad sends screenshots of FaceBook posts that claim recent teenager kidnappings and ways to prevent yourself from being human trafficked in a Walmart parking lot. Both my parents keep my sister and me in check with local and nationwide events and my dad just enjoys scaring us both to some sort of panic. 

    My friends and I don't bring up news often unless it is gossip about other girls. We only tend to talk about major events that can eventually affect our lives. A big topic that we have discussed in more recent times is Roe v. Wade being overturned and the more recent discussion of the Willow Project. Topics such as these can get us talking forever making us ask questions about what being an American is truly about. My friends aren't very political people so most conversation end short, however, in other cases such as these, we rant for hours on end.