Supreme Court Analysis

    In my previous years of schooling, we very briefly went over American history, including the Supreme Court. To be fully honest, I do not recall most about what I've learned about the Supreme Court, since it has been so long. So, these videos, Supreme Court pt. 1 and pt. 2, jogged my memory on the system. I also took the time to read the history article on the Supreme Court.  

    I found it really interesting how the Supreme Court is made up of such a small group of people, and how it has differed over the years. Originally, it bounced back between 5 and 10 seats for many years, before ultimately deciding on 9 in 1869. It surprised me that the court was made up of only five people at one point, and how limited the diversity of opinion would have been. 

    I enjoyed learning about the respect each of the justices had for each other, even back when these videos were made. I was happy to hear them speak about how they shake hands before they begin their discussion to build relationships, and avoid holding grudges if there was a disagreement. I assumed the people working in the Supreme Court were mature and respectful, but it is nice to be reassured. 

    The most surprising thing I learned was said by the chief of justice, William H. Rehnquist. He explained that before he became chief, multiple people would speak their opinions first, without letting everyone have a chance to share their beliefs about it. He now makes sure to implement a policy that everyone has to speak once before someone can speak twice, which I believe is a more effective way of settling things. This also allows everyone to share their beliefs without their opinion getting swayed. 

    Honestly, my opinion of the Supreme Court has not changed, because I really didn't have an opinion on the Supreme Court to begin with. I hear often from other people who are more involved in politics than I am, that the Supreme Court is always swayed one way or another, and is an unfair judge of policies. Although, this video (even though it was released a while ago) painted the supreme court to be much more accepting of all people and opinions as I had previously imagined.

Individual Self Fulfillment

When reviewing the Eight Values of Free Expression, number four resonates the most with me. Expression number four is “Individual Self Fulfillment”, otherwise known as Self Actualization. Our right to have free speech, in my opinion, is the best way we are able to express ourselves as people. Our ability to speak on certain topics and share our opinions is what shapes our identity, and makes us the person we are. Free speech not only shapes who we are, but our society. If we are unable to speak on what we believe is right, there would be no change in our world.

There are many types of free speech. Speech goes further than the actual act of speaking, but also the ability to write your beliefs and petition. I especially believe this right is the most crucial, because we are able to stand up about the injustices that happen in our society. The act of people being able to speak about these issues allow problems to begin to be resolved, and light to be shined on them. For instance, the incident that occured in May of 2020 with George Floyd. This devastating example of police brutality gave people the confidence to speak out and petition for change. This lead the BLM movement to gain popularity, and thousands of people protested to end police brutality. This sparked conversation of other cases like Floyds that had been left unresolved, and help seek justice for those families. For instance, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. 

With social media, free speech is being used and shared more now than ever before in history. Over 32 billion people are active on facebook everyday sharing comments, posts, and likes. 32 billion on facebook alone, nevermind other social media apps like twitter, instagram, and tik tok. These users are constantly sharing their opinion on anything and everything, from politics to their favorite cake flavor. This sparks important conversations, arguments, and discoveries that need to be had in order for our society to keep evolving. In the past, to learn about topics from the point of view of others, you would have to speak to them directly. Now, you are able to learn and understand different peoples perspectives from all around. Although some things are not allowed to be talked about on social media websites, it does give people the ability to speak on some topics.

It can be argued that social media websites are taking away the right, by banning people for speaking on specific topics, as well as limiting conversations. For instance, the popular social media site TikTok was accused of censoring black creators and those speaking on the BLM movement. For example, a popular black creator, Ziggi Tyler Posted multiple videos showing how the app would not allow certain phrases in his bio as well as in the description of the video. He was even unable to use the word “black”. When he did, he was flagged right away for posting “inappropriate content” However, social media is owned by private companies, not the government. So, them censoring what you post, isnt technically breaking the first amendment. 

To conclude, I believe Individual Self Fulfillment is the most important value of expression, because it allows us to speak freely on topics we feel strongly about as well as express ourselves as people.

My Five Sources of News and Information

 MY 5 SOURCES OF NEWS & INFORMATION

TikTok

As embarrassing as it is to admit that I get almost all my news from TikTok, it's true! I very rarely think to check the news, so seeing the important events be posted right on my “for you” page  is incredibly helpful. Also, the app uses your liked content to create a homepage that will appeal to your specific interests, providing you with videos and information you will enjoy. However, not all of the information on it is reliable, since people will exaggerate the sometimes already exaggerated news for views and likes on the app. However, since this made me aware of the event, I can now further search into it. 

Google News

I often check Google News since it is easy to access on the home screen of my computer, and I find myself reading the headlines from time to time. Since I use google as my primary search engine, it is the first results that appear when I look up topics or specific events. Google news puts information from multiple news sources all in one spot, so it is less likely to lean left or right, and avoids confirmation bias. 

Today

I get a lot of my news from the today show, mostly because it is a force of habit. I often watch the today show with my mom in the morning when I'm not away at school, so it's a daily activity I've passed over to school. I like the today show for my news because it mixes in positive and negative stories. Although NBC, where the today show airs, tends to lean left. However, I believe they do a good job of providing both sides and a fair argument.

Twitter

Similar to TikTok, I get a lot of my news from Twitter. This is mostly because I receive push notifications, and when a major event happens, it appears immediately on my phone. However, this is mostly breaking news, and only provides the major points in the small tweet, since there are limited characters to type. So, I mostly use twitter to learn the main points of major events I may not be interested in, or learn enough information to look further into the event. 

Good News Network

The Good News Network is a website that only publishes positive news stories. I often visit this website after reading the news, to end on a positive note. The media often covers the terrible things that are happening around the world, and it can be easy to forget there are many positive things happening in the world. This website highlights events that regain your faith in humanity.