The 8 Values of Free Expression- Protect Dissent

Of the 8 values of free expression, I deem protect dissent as most important at the start of our nation, and now today as we are in turmoil. This value allows you to disagree with the government, media, or most popular/accepted opinion at the time. Without this, you would be forced to agree and comply with other peoples' wishes when you don't want to. From an early settler who disagreed with Great Britain's unfair taxes, to an individual today who doesn't wish to be COVID-19 vaccinated, they're both allowed to take that stance, even if their government or peers don't want them to.

Early Americans had forms of communication, but nothing like we have today. The founding fathers probably never could have imagined the tools we have like the internet, social media, emails, etc. However, their idea of protect dissent benefits Americans today in times of online political censorship, polarizing ideologies, and government intervention in the two. A form of social media I can't not call out for these practices is Twitter. Twitter censored opinions of those who disagreed with 2020 election results, those who questioned efficacy of experimental vaccines, those who questioned aid packages sent to Ukraine, those curious of Hunter Biden business dealings, and so much more. Now, perhaps some think that people with those views should be banned, since they're spreading "disinformation theories", but that's a major problem. Since when was disinformation a term used in everyday vocabulary? It seems as though you can flip to any news broadcast, wait 5 minutes, and hear it mentioned at least once. Our problem today is not that we don't agree with each others opinions, or that we think others' views are downright backwards-- it's the attempt to try and censor others because you don't agree with or don't like what they're saying. That's what's wrong.

People have criticized the government and their supporters through every administration, yet only in modern, recent times has there been a call for the censorship of those views. Today there is the theory that if somebody doesn't agree with you they must be actively trying to harm you. In reality, someone else's beliefs can't harm you. If you make the personal decision not to look at opinions that make you go crazy, you'll be fine. This happens to everyone, you just need to be tolerant. Tolerance is one thing protect dissent needs to function. If people are not tolerant of other opinions, not willing to give them a space to be heard, there will be mob rule and opposing ideas are squandered. I am ever wary of this occurring today. 

From my point of view, I see almost all mainstream media outlets reporting on the same thing. No journalists are real anymore-- they don't find their own stories, they read a script that's given to them. So the news is reporting on all the same stuff using all the same terminology. Social media networks censor those whose opinions differ from that of the mainstream media. To top that off, our government is currently being investigated for colluding with social networks to censor the opinions similar to those I mentioned above. Now that seems to me like our government doesn't want us disagreeing with them. This is why Americans have protect dissent. I hope that someday soon we will no longer have to fight for our right to free speech. Social media networks are not required to allow our free speech, but they should not be able to collude with other huge organizations in our country to create a "right" and "wrong" way of thinking. Many do not notice this battle we are currently facing, or believe it to be true, but I hope for the prosper of our nation as a whole that oppositional censorship is something that does not live on.