Free Expression and How We Keep It In Shape

 Free expression is one of the things that keep our society functioning. It is an item that we use on a daily basis to express ourselves. Without free speech, we have nothing. Our society has nothing to function with, and we have no way of letting people know how we feel about things. When it is threatened, or when people have their free speech taken, that is something very bad. We have employees being fired for their opinions, we have speakers being kicked off of campus, and many more bad situations happening.

  There are situations in society are screwed up because people need the freedom to express themselves. People should not be fired for expressing different opinions. Different opinions should not be censored or slandered. There are situations where this has happened. I had to get some interviews to see if others saw what I saw. People have different experiences when it comes to this very important topic, so it was important that I went and got their opinions.

   I interviewed Jared, and he told me this. “There’s a lot of controversial topics in our society today, and even if you believe something, your not accepted for believing it”. He finds this to be “very hypocritical”, and so do I. This is a prominent issue on the college campuses, like when Milo Yiannopoulos and Ben Shapiro get kicked off of college campuses. I also spoke to Liam, and he has a different view about this. Liam, however, sees that people can reasonably disagree without being unaccepted and unreasonable. “Yes, most people can have reasonable conversations about topics they disagree on”, says Liam. When I asked Liam about whether he can give express himself freely. His answer was, “Yes, although I'm worried by the chilling effects of the Trump administration arresting reporters and putting forward "alternative facts." He feels that some of Trump’s actions are not helping the matter. When Jared bought up faith, it reminded me of the employees who have been fried for their beliefs, as well as the 7 year old who was forced by the law to stop saying bible verses in school. When I spoke to Harry, he acknowledged that the bosses had a right to fire people over their opinions if they don’t represent the company. But he also said that, “You don't fire someone over basically just a political opinion”, but did acknowledge that if they said something vile, their job is in danger. That was just a fraction of what they, as well as Jamira, had to say. You can read and hear the rest of what they said in the bottom of the essay

     The interviews I did really expanded my horizon on the issue of free speech. It gave me a lot to think about, which was very important. I still think there is a threat, but it may not be as widespread as I thought. Jamira, Liam, and Harry all said that they feel as if they can freely express themselves. But Jared said that’s not the case for him, and the stories that we here suggest that this is not the same for everyone. Reasonable discussion and disagreement are needed in today’s society. We can’t censor and try to shut people down when we disagree with them, nor can we destroy their lives. We must discuss our disagreements like adults if we ever want to find solutions to very serious issues.



Links & Transcripts


Jared

file:///home/chronos/u-fc3d926395967a19bec5dc249ad7db47e9b8001a/Downloads/Ali%20Record%20Of%20Jared.mp3


Liam

Questions he answered

  1. Do you feel that you can freely express yourself

A. Is it anything different at school?

B. Is it any different at home?

  1. Do you feel that there is a threat on free speech?

  2. Do you feel that most people can have a reasonable conversation about a topic they disagree on?

  3. What types of views get their free speech attacked the most?

  4. Are there certain things that you feel you're not allowed to say?

  5. Do you feel that you can express yourself on social media without getting fired from a job, or facing similar consequences?

His answers:

Yes, although I'm worried by the chilling effects of the Trump administration arresting reporters and putting forward "alternative facts."


2. No.


3. Yes, most people can have reasonable conversations about topics they disagree on - case in point our group chat.


4. Fascists, and they deserve it. In my opinion, you shouldn't be allowed to say that you want to kill millions of people.


5. There isn't anything I feel that I'm not allowed to say. There are many things that I choose not to say, because words can hurt people and I understand what it's like to be on the receiving end of hatred.


6. Unless you're a federal employee or say something that is so monumentally stupid that you become internet infamous for it, there's very little chance of getting fired for saying things on the internet.



Jamira

Questions Answered:

 Interview Questions

  1. Do you feel that you can freely express yourself

A. Is it anything different at school?

B. Is it any different at home?

  1. Do you feel that there is a threat on free speech?

  2. Do you feel that most people can have a reasonable conversation about a topic they disagree on?

  3. What types of views get their free speech attacked the most?

  4. Are there certain things that you feel you're not allowed to say?

  5. Do you feel that you can express yourself on social media without getting fired from a job, or facing similar consequences?

Her answers

1. Yes, I feel like I freely express myself.


A. Especially in school. I feel like i can do this by expressing my personality through my choice in clothing, hair color, etc. Being as though SLA has such a diverse community, I think it is easy for me to make friends and befriend others since we are such an open and accepting school. This makes me feel like I am able to be true to myself and not fear others opinions. I also feel like the school likes to receive feedback on my opinions as well as others. I feel like I have a voice in the school.


B. I feel the same way at home. My parents and siblings accept me for who I am and within our household we treat each other equally. This allows us all to listen to each and freely express our emotions and concerns with each other.


2. I feel like there is a threat to free speech in a sense that some people may fear playing devil's advocate and holding the unpopular opinion. Personally, I am not afraid to state my opinion on anything and I would like to think that I provide a comfortable space for people to feel the same.


3. Depending on the topic, I think most people have a reasonable conversation. Granted, one party may feel stronger about the topic than the other which may cause a heated discussion, but this is where maturity comes in and both parties should understand that it is okay to disagree.


4. I don't really understand this question..


5. Absolutely not. I feel like there are many things that I may hold an unpopular opinion on, but I am not afraid to voice my opinion and my reasoning behind it.


6. This is kind of a touchy subject. Although I am an advocate of freedom of speech and freely expressing oneself, I do feel like social media is where this issue becomes controversial. Personally, I would not put anything on social media that I wouldn't want anyone to see, but unfortunately this is an issue that sometimes occurs with others. I think that if a person would not be okay with their parents seeing it then they should probably agree that their employer would not want to see it either. Especially for professional jobs, one may not want to post anything provocative or obscene on media account. Also, they may not want to say anything negative about their job or company that they work for. I feel like if a person is that into social media to where they post and tweet about their entire life, I think that they should at least make their accounts private, especially if they are posting things that could possible get them fired from their job.




Harry



file:///home/chronos/u-fc3d926395967a19bec5dc249ad7db47e9b8001a/Downloads/Audio_01_25_2017_08_50_24.m4a%20(1).mp4



Articles that inspired the project

http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/update-curt-schilling-fired-for-opinion-on-transgender-bathroom-law/#ixzz4Smfl8ou9

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/434297/eric-walsh-georgia-public-health-doctor-fired-christian-beliefs

http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/update-curt-schilling-fired-for-opinion-on-transgender-bathroom-law/#ixzz4Smfl8ou9

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/08/03/student-facing-50-day-suspension-for-saying-all-lives-matter.html

 

http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/12/02/iowa-anti-facist-group-confirms-iowa-university-raised-security-fees-censor-milo/

http://www.dailywire.com/news/7864/breaking-depaul-university-bans-shapiro-john-minster

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1130/Bannon-invited-to-Harvard-conference-campus-free-speech-debate-ensues

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-glaring-evidence-that-free-speech-is-threatened-on-campus/471825/

http://www.newsweek.com/2016/06/03/college-campus-free-speech-thought-police-463536.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/21/your-money/speaking-about-politics-can-cost-you-your-job.html

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/06/03/school-sends-sheriff-to-order-child-to-stop-sharing-bible-verses.html

http://www.nj.com/somerset/index.ssf/2016/09/high_school_student_reportedly_suspended_for_anti-.html

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/22/texas-school-punishes-boy-for-opposing-homosexuality.html

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/04/do-students-still-have-free-speech-in-school/360266/

http://www.infowars.com/news-reporter-fired-for-supporting-trump/

http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/12/31/booklash-celebrities-mad-milos-book-deal/





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