Various scholars have created over time what we have come to refer to as "Eight Values of Free Expression." These values are all important, there's no mistake to be made. The marketplace of ideas, participation in self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, checks on governmental power, promotion of tolerance, promotion of innovation, and the protection of dissent, they all are important factors of why America protects our right to express ourselves. While free expression is something that Americans recognize as a right, it is more than a right. Free expression is a right that enables us to have privileges, and these privileges are more or less what the eight values are about. And while all of these are important, I believe that two are more important than the others.
The first value that I believe should be held more highly than the others is that of the protection of dissent.
This idea was first introduced by Steve Shiffrin, who wrote Dissent, Injustice and the Meanings of America. This idea can be simplified into one statement by saying that it is not simply a right, but a duty to speak out when your opinion is in the minority, in the context of a governmental decision. This is incredibly important, because it prevents mob rule. Majority rule is a theoretically sound way to run a government, but not when it completely excludes, or worse condemns, opinions in the minority.
The second value that I believe to be on a different tier of importance than the other six is that of the promotion of tolerance. Tolerance has been an increasingly important issue in our nation, particularly in the last decade or so. As hate speech has become more and more present in mainstream news, it's become crucial that we as Americans become educated on it. Why is this kind of speech wrong? Who does it harm? What can we do to spread awareness about it? These questions are ones that every citizen who claims to be, or wants to be, educated on our nation's culture should ask themselves.
So now the question that you may be asking yourself as a reader: "why are these two more important than the other six?" The answer is simple, it all relates to having an open mind. In life, it's crucial to avoid having a closed mind, in any situation. These two principles exemplify this: they protect those who are different and see things differently from others. The beauty of democracy is that every voice is heard, even if they are in the minority. Tolerance and dissent are crucial aspects to maintaining that fact, and preserving our great American democracy.
While the First Amendment provides us as citizens with incredible rights, and it should be protected with all costs, our democratic form of government should always take precedence. Our country was founded by a group of people who were once in the minority, when they came to the new world from England. If we want this country to move forward with the same morals it was founded upon, we need to keep protecting those who are different, which is exactly what these values of free expression do.
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