Blog Post #3

Blog Post #3

Luke Lee

3/25/2024

When thinking of strong components of freedom of speech many different ideas may come up. Some people have different views on freedom of speech and what that statement actually entails. For the most recent assignment I and the rest of the class were introduced to the eight values of free expression. These eight values are all theories that go into thought when one may think of free speech. In this post, I will go over my own personal thoughts on some of these theories and connect them to real life issues and discourse going on today.

I believe the most important of the eight values listed would be participation in government. The long story short of this value is that citizens will not make wise or valuable voting decisions if 'candidates and proponents of certain policies are restricted in their ability to communicate positions'. I find this incredibly important to myself personally because I believe there are so many people who vote the way they do because of misinformation. They'll read one headline and state that their mind has been made up. Instead of learning other perspectives and growing, these people continue to fall into the hole of misinformation and ignorance. So many people if they just read a little bit further down into the article or if they did their own research would find that their opinions now might not be the same as if they actually sat down and really reviewed over everything they believed in. 

I also think the most important value that isn't necessarily important to me personally would-be individual self-fulfillment. There was an ongoing joke during COVID about when the kid with the Blue Lives Matter mask and the girl with the LGBTQ mask would raise their hand on the same question in a debate like environment. But when you look at the situation and take it seriously and instead of a joke, there is a legitimate real-life situation here. Both of these kids have experienced different events and experiences in their lives to reach this point. You can never say somebodies' opinion isn't valid or legitimate. They have their opinion for a reason. And 9/10 times that reason is legitimate. Knowing your own personal identity and being able to take opinions away from it is great. While I don't always agree with those who view the world differently as I do, I am thankful for them and their experiences. It allows me to grow as a person and remember that I'm not the only one here and there are plenty of people with different experiences as me. It makes me a better person even if sometimes I don't agree with them and even if the interactions can be frustrating. 

For myself, the value I see happen the most in real life is Marketplace of ideas or Discovery of Truth. We all know nowadays especially in the media and the news, there are a ton of propaganda. It's all a money game. If you look at all of the news stations and media production companies, I guarantee you will find they are all owned by the same 10 companies or so. The same people own all of the big media companies. Therefore, quite a bit of propaganda and bias floats around. With that being said, the truth always comes out. If you remember, the media went on an absolute crusade on Donald Trump. Everyone in 2020 was against this man. Being a member of the KKK and voting for Donald Trump were seen as pretty much the same thing by leftists everywhere. No matter what you think of Trump, any unbiased person with a set of eyes could understand the clear crucification of our former president. The public recognized the clear bias the media had against the former President and how hard his adversaries were pushing for him to not even be allowed to re-run in the future. Now four years later and it seems like Trump is probably going to run away with this upcoming election. I remember eight years ago when Trump got elected and my school at the time had a week of silence where teachers and students alike could call of school for 'mental health' days and wear black bands of protest with a bunch of rich white kids and white teachers kneeling for the anthem because of 'social injustice' none of them have actually even come closed to sniffing. 8 years later and being a Donald Trump supporter isn't really looked down upon as much. Look, Trump isn't perfect. There are a lot of things he does and says that aren't so great. But the man clearly isn't the devil or Hitler like the media claimed he was. The truth always wins. 

Blog #2

 Blog Post #2

I didn't really know all that much about the Supreme Court before this assignment outside of the standard information everybody knows such as the Supreme Court makes rulings, and the members stay in office until retirement or death. 

To start off with the things I didn't know, the first meeting was all the way back in 1790. I had no idea the Supreme Court went this far back in history. What's even more interesting is that the first case "West v Barnes" was rather insignificant as the matter was over a debt a farmer owed a family. I also didn't know there have been 115 justices who have served on the Supreme Court. Really puts everything into perspective. 

One of if the not most important thing I took away from this article would be the bottom section of the article which went over some of the most notable Supreme Court cases over the last sixty years or so including cases such as Roe v Wade and U.S. vs Nixon. 

The most surprising thing I learned from this article was that the first meeting which was set for February 1st, 1790 was postponed a day until the 2nd because multiple justices had transportation issues. That's not very surprising given the time, just a little bit surprising considering how important this meeting was and how important a lot of these initial justices were.

The article didn't really change anything for me with the Supreme Court. It more so just allowed me to understand them a little bit more and how things work in the Supreme Court. It's a great job that comes with a lot of power and a lot of responsibility. 

Blog Post #1

ESPN has always been there. Throughout the years when thinking of sports media there have been plenty of different companies and news sources that have come and gone throughout the years. Whether it was Sports Illustrated, NFL, NBA, or MLB network ESPN has been there. ESPN is the #1 news site for all things sports as they have everything on their website. As a future member of the sports media industry, I understand the importance of staying up to date in the sports world. From articles about various athletic topics, news updates on your favorite players, or encapsulating interviews, there is something for all sports fans at ESPN. The most reliable sports media out there.  

While I like to stay up to date with most of my sports new on ESPN, when I want to know football specific news, I will turn on to NFL Network. All of the professional sports have their own specific TV networks, but I prefer the NFL Network as I am a big NFL guy. I know just about everything about the NFL, and I am always up to date, and you can thank the NFL Network for that. Super convenient with 24/7 around the clock NFL news. For example, I was watching an NFL documentary at around 2 am when the program was momentarily interrupted to announce the trading of then Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Alex Smith before returning back to normal programing. The NFL Network has its own NFL specific talk shows and documentaries throughout the years which will turn anyone into an up-to-date NFL know it all! 

As for actual news that has nothing to do with sports, I would say FOX News is my #1 source of real-world news. To be fair, I understand the inherit bias that comes with news station especially big ones such as FOX, CNN, MNSBC, NBC, etc. What I do find with FOX is that their bias is significantly less than other news station. The other news stations don't even try to hide their left-wing bias and while I am well aware of FOX's right-wing bias, I believe they are less likely to try and rock the boat with inaccurate or misconstrued quotes. Also, I like that if you watch FOX newscast everyone is always smiling and happy, and if you watch CNN everyone's all pissed off. Really opens your eyes. 

Unfortunately, it looks like Tik Tok might not be an app allowed in the US for much longer. That being said, I am afraid to admit I get quite a bit of my news on Tik Tok. To be fair, I don't usually get the full story or all of the details on Tik Tok, but more or less I will hear about it and then if I find the issue interesting, I can find more online. Just like Fox or CNN, there is inherit bias on Tik Tok with news but just like with those if you're smart you can find what's real and what isn't pretty quickly. Also, as a college student who's always on his phone, it is the most convenient way of finding and digesting news. It's like getting news in a minute and only having to listen to the one section of the news you're interested in. 

Finally, we have good old YouTube. YouTube walked so Tik Tok can run. I learn a lot about entertainment, and obscure sports story or really any other topic. Can provide a good look into what was popular back in the day (5 years ago) and can help open people's horizons in their interests. Also, news such as trailers or interviews are often released on YouTube before any other platform.