Let Freedom Ring (Blog Post #4)

 

Let Freedom Ring (Blog Post #4)

“Let Freedom Ring”. A phrase commonly attributed to the song My Country ‘Tis of Thee, written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831. But what does this thing “freedom” really mean? Freedom is a state of personal autonomy, in which an individual can think and act as they please without fear of punishment. When the United States was founded in 1776, freedom was a huge concept that the founding fathers knew they had to protect in order to create a harmonious and happy society. They protected six different forms of freedoms in the first amendment including freedom from religion, of religion, of speech, of the press, of assembly, and the freedom to petition.

There are eight theories that explain why freedom of expression is so important to us as American citizens. These include providing a marketplace of ideas, allowing participation in self-government, creating stable change, providing self-fulfillment, permitting citizens to participate in the check of governmental power, promoting tolerance, promoting innovation, and protecting dissent.

The theory that resonates with me the most is how freedom of expression provides a marketplace for ideas. This theory was suggested by John Milton. The article linked here: https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Milton, provides a deeper dive into John Milton’s life. Overall, he was an Englishman born in 1608 who opposed tyranny and state-sanctioned religion. He was a huge advocate for freedom of expression and didn’t believe in having to get a license to print or publish. His ideas would go on to influence the United States governmental system over 100 years after his death. He is famous for saying that if truth and falsehood are allowed to freely grapple, the truth will always override the wrong. 

I have always been interested in how people communicate with each other, hence why my major is Advertising, Public Relations, and Strategic Communication. I can’t imagine living in a world where the government would have to authorize every word that came out of my mouth. If our founding fathers weren’t inspired by Milton’s ideas, then this whole blogging concept, which makes up a good portion of our class, would not be at all possible. 

I also am a big reader. This summer I am doing a challenge in which I have to read at least ten pages a day. Although ten pages doesn’t sound like a lot, I figured this would be a good way to keep my brain engaged during the summer. I am grateful that I have the freedom to read whatever I want and that the government isn’t assigning my reading to me. I hate to imagine a society where everyone has the same opinion and is getting fed the same information. Our viewpoints make us different and make us who we are. This relates to the theory that Americans value free expression because it provides us with a sense of self-fulfillment. This theory states that free speech allows everyone to have their own personal identity, which in turn creates a happier society since people can be who they want to be.

I found an article linked here:  Countries with Freedom of Speech 2023, that gives an overview of freedom of expression around the world. I found that freedom of expression is actually protected by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, however, there are still countries existing today that don’t prioritize freedom. The countries ranked the best for free expression include Demark, Belgium, Switzerland, and Finland. The map below highlights those countries that are best with free expression, marked in dark blue, compared to those who don’t, marked in light yellow. This gets me thinking… what can we do to promote free expression universally?