The freedom of expression is one of the most important aspects to being a citizen of the United States. There are eight speech theories that identify why it is so important to Americans. These theories consist of the Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Government Power,Promote Tolerance,Promote Innovation and Protect Dissent. Some of these theories resonate with me more than others but all carry immense value and importance to the reason we have freedom of expression. These theories connect to many present day social media resources and can help understand the happenings in the real world.
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Personally, two theories speak to me the most. I have seen these two theories present in my own life through various news stories and events. The two theories are Stable Changeand Individual Self-Fulfillment.Ultimately, understanding the importance of each theory and how it is still seen today is beneficial to understanding the evolution of the first amendment.
Stable Change relates to the idea that citizens are allowed to “vent” if they are angry and alienated. This allows the United States government to monitor potentially dangerous groups who could act out in violence. Having the ability to speak out is a much better choice than committing acts of violence. I like to see the Stable Change theory as a balance that the government creates between angry civilians and non-violent approaches. An example of this would be peaceful protesters. In March of 2018, The March for Our Lives commenced in Washington D.C.. This march was about adding more gun-control in America after 17 were left dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. A former student opened fire at the school and his accessibility to weapons such as a semiautomatic rifle enraged millions and an estimated 800,000 people were present at the march. Instead of causing more violent crimes protesters gathered for their voices and messages to be heard by congress for changes to be developed. I even remember walking out of my high school campus (in early April) across to the state representatives office to peacefully protest against gun violence. Another prime example of Stable Change are the Stonewall Riots. In the 1960’s the New York Police Department commonly raided gay bars. Members of the LGBTQ+ community had enough on June 28th, 1969 when officers raided the Stonewall Inn and began protesting for six straight days. This protest led to the start of the Christopher Street Liberation Day march where the theory Stable Change is represented.
Individual Self-Fulfillmentrelates to human dignity and how we are free to express ourselves to create our own unique identities. This theory feels extremely personal to me because it is important to me that I am able to identify in a way that makes me feel that I am living my most authentic life. I believe that having individual self-fulfillment is critical to freedom of expression. In other countries such as South Korea, they are limited in the ways they can create their own identities. Specifically, there is clear official censorship set in place by The National Security Law that makes it illegal to share sympathies or beliefs with North Korea, however much more of the censorship is focused towards the media. Contrastingly, as Americans we can share our opinions freely with very little restrictions. We are also free to express ourselves by appearance while countries such as Sudan and North-Korea are not given this option.
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