Blog Post #3

Out of the eight Values of Free Expression I would personally say the one that resonates with me the most is the Individual Self Freedom Fulfillment. This value is the most meaningful to me because it speaks on the importance of being able to freely talk about yourself and to be able to express ones personal identity. This means you have the right to be who you are and create your own persona through social media and speech. Without this value an individual would have to worry about what they post, every single time they post and I am personally very grateful for not having to worry about this. I feel we as a country take this value for granted. 

    In other countries like China they don't have the luxury to be able to freely express themselves online. This is something we Americans get to freely express but I don't think most of us realize how lucky we truly are. If you were a citizen in China and wanted to express an opinion or an emotion on social media you would be punished to the highest level, all for trying to show your own identity. We also take for granted how much easier it is for us to grow out of our shell, and truly become identified with our inner being by expressing ourselves to hundreds of people with a click of a button. This doesn't even mention how well we can get to know other individuals through seeing their identities by what they choose to post and how they choose to act. If we looked at the relationships with each other as a community in both China and America we can see that the percentage of humans who are interacting with each other is exponentially higher in America than those relationships in China and this is solely because we are able to communicate with one another online, and in a free manner. 

    Another way the Individual Speech Fulfillment Value helps us is to help us stay connected. Through social media websites, like Instagram for example, we get to freely express and talk about certain real world things that are happening right now, without having any boundaries. One example that I have seen in very recent news is the passing of the Queen. Through social media people are able to mourn the loss of such an influential and well known woman through posts, comments, and memories posted of her life. Because of this Individual Speech Value people can gather around the world, and not only see what others are saying but actually contribute their own thoughts and emotions during this difficult time. Another recent and more positive thread I have seen on social media is people chatting about going back to school for the new school year. Have heard both negative and positive things about going back to college and personally, it made me more excited to get back to High Point which shows us the emotional value being free and connected holds.The Individual Speech Fulfillment Value helps us not only stay connected to people we hold near and dear to us, but to people all around the world.