Blog Post #3

 The Eight Values of Free Expression

Freedom, a fact that every American now takes for granted is something that was given to us long ago with great foresight from our founding fathers based off of eight key principles. 

1. Marketplace of Ideas
2. Participation in Self-Government
3. Stable Change
4. Individual Self-Fulfillment
5. Check on Governmental Power
6. Promote Tolerance
7. Promote Innovation
8. Promote Dissent

These principles are still upheld today to a varying degree and are highly important for our society during the time we are in, the age of information and globalization. 

As such, I believe that the most important principle of the eight today stands to be the seventh principle, promote innovation. Only 25 years ago the world was a drastically different place, the internet was just starting to get going, video games and anime were becoming more popular, processing speed was low, and some important technologies in our world today wasn't known back then.

In between 2000 and 2024 many amazing technologies have been made and discovered. From CRISPR to AI like chatGPT to the technologies of the iPhone,iPad, and windows computers like windows 10 they were all created or discovered in the last 25 years. 

This of course is thanks to innovation, the principle I would say that is promoted the most in America. 

America is beautiful, it promotes cooperation, teamwork, and allows individuals to follow their own desires or the "american dream" as one may put it. From this basic concept, innovation thrives and is created in large amounts, which can be seen with how most, if not all, technologies listed above were created or discovered by individuals or companies from the United States. 

In America's goal to uphold the eight values of freedom, I would say that America created the perfect breeding ground for innovation the likes of which has not been seen before in history, and the catalyst for why the world is accelerating at such a rapid pace when it comes to technology. 

Even with something as simple as social media, the rapid pace can be seen from the innovation sparked in America: chatroom services were the most popular in the 1990s followed by platforms such as facebook and skype, and then today the world of social media is dominated by services such as X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Discord. This has even spread outside of the social media category with helpful programs like zoom and slack to help out with school and work.

I must say now though that I personally resonate with the fourth value of free expression more than I do with the seventh. While around the world the seventh is being shown at a miraculous amount, I personally don't have the drive to be a scientist discovering something or being a designer of a product. 

The creative way is the way for me, specifically, game design. Games have been a hobby for me for a while and as I love playing them, I want to create fun experiences for other people too, and this perfectly aligns with the fourth principle. Due to the self-fulfillment and enjoyment I had from playing video games in the past, I am trying to replicate that same feeling for others in the future. 

However, at the end of the day, rather you be a scientist innovating the world to the future or a creative designer leading a charge for self-fulfillment, all of these principles are found in our world today in some way or another. Some may be smaller than others, but they are all still visible and are still upheld with the concept of freedom created by America.