Blog Post #3 - Values

 A society thrives on innovation, experimentation, and growth. The seventh of the eight values of free expression addresses this. 

Promote Innovation 

Jack Balkin in Living Originalism conveys that... "A community in which free speech is valued and protected is likely to be a more energized, creative, interesting society as its citizens actively fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways."

This sentence immediately made me think of social media and how fun, crazy, weird, and creepy individuals can get online. Memes and Vines have always been a hit with this new generation and it is creeping up into the millennials and boomers as they slowly come across them. 

Here is an example of a meme your grandmother might come across while scrolling on Facebook. 

It is cute, funny, silly, and does not cause any controversy. This is the spark of creative energy that Jack Balkin was referring to. Maybe he was talking about more sophisticated innovations such as technology, higher education, NASA, etc. This falls under the category because all citizens have the right to be creative and fulfilling themselves in diverse and interesting ways. 

As more apps have been released the more unhinged people have started being with their content. X was a big change with this. 

 

Twitter, now known as X, is where users can share 280-character thoughts, jokes, news, pictures, polls, and almost anything else. You can also "retweet" the post if you agree with it or want others to see it. The more retweets, the more times it is shared, and the higher chance it will get more attention. Twitter was all fun and innocent until people started commenting mean things, celebrities had open arguments using tweets, people would make insulting memes of celebrities of presidents, and so many other things. 

While X's purpose is to promote conversation and networking, that privilege can be taken away. Donald Trump, for example, had his Twitter account permanently suspended for posting three tweets that promoted conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Twitter claimed it was due to the "risk of further incitement of violence" in this article.

Taking away Donald Trump's account was taking away his freedom of speech. If his tweets truly were a risk of violence, then by all means. However many people did not agree that that was the correct way to go about things. Elon Musk was actually so moved by instances like this that he was inspired to purchase Twitter and turn it into X. 

Everyone asked him if it was for profitable gain, and he simply replied that he was doing it to give people more freedom of speech. Elon had seen how people like to be honest and constantly express themselves on Twitter, so they should be allowed to without the threat of getting banned (with some exceptions).

Elon was Promoting Innovation with this action. He is also promoting Individual Self-fulfillment. Edwin Baker talks about how free speech enables individuals to express themselves and create their own identities. Social Media is a great outlet for individuals being able to express themselves. that is why it is comforting that people like Elon Musk are working to protect our Freedom of Speech across Social Media.