Blog Post #3

My favorite speech theory is the right to Marketplace of Ideas. This idea was proposed by John Milton, and it made it possible to print and publish without a license. Being able to publish without a license is crucial for being able to share one's thoughts and opinions. This is especially prevalent with the government. It is essential to be able to share your thoughts on how and what the government is doing because otherwise, the government would have too much power. If no one was sharing their critiques of the government, then they would not be able to improve. To expand, if a bill was passed that society did not like, they need to be able to share their opinion so they can make a change. When citizens are not allowed to speak up for what they believe in, then they can not hold their leaders accountable. For instance, in countries like North Korea, citizens do not have the right to freedom of the press; therefore, the government controls what is being produced. This is a negative thing because the citizens do not get to hear about all of the horrible things going on in their country. Without freedom of the press, our government could hide information and publish fake information. An example of when freedom of the press was necessary in our country was during the Watergate scandal. Had citizens not been able to write about this scandal, the public would have had no idea. 

Another speech theory that I think is valuable is Stable Change. This speech theory states that citizens have the right to vent. This is similar to Marketplace of Ideas in the sense that citizens can post arguments they have online, but Stable Change also incorporates being able to verbally vent. It is vital that people have the right to be able to share their opinions because it helps to keep the government in check. Today, thousands of people are venting about the current state of our government. While on the surface level, this might seem like a negative thing, it actually leads to growth. Being able to share your opinions means that you will also hear other people's opinions and can possibly gain a new viewpoint. In order to make informed decisions, you need to look at both sides. Allowing people to vent makes it possible to see things from a different viewpoint. For example, you might think that President Nido Quibein is a terrible college president, but it is possible that when conversing your opinion with someone, they open up your mind to a whole new perspective. 

Lastly, the right to Protect Dissent is extremely important as well. This is a citizen's right to criticize the government. This idea is necessary because if one person dislikes the government but does not voice their opinion then change can never be made. Additionally, it protects the government from killing you for disagreeing with them. In countries like the Soviet Union, you were killed for having an opposing view as the government. 

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Blog Post #2

I decided to read the article assigned. Going into this assignment, I did not know much about the Supreme Court other than what I had learned in middle school. I found this article to be super interesting and informative. I assumed that the Supreme Court was established when the Declaration of Independence was made in 1776. I learned that the Supreme Court was created in 1789, not from the Declaration of Independence but from Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. 

The most important takeaway I got was how important the Chief Justice is. I thought that the Chief Justice's sole purpose was to declare a ruling when there was a hung jury. This article taught me that the Chief Justice has many more responsibilities. For example, the Chief Justice has to manage all of the Justices and set up weekly meetings.  Additionally, if the Chief Justice sided with the winning ruling, they get to decide who writes the court's final decision. Most importantly, the Chief Justice presides over presidential impeachment trials. 

Before reading this, I thought that the Supreme Court always consisted of nine justices; however, I learned that it originally was made up of six judges. What I found surprising about this information was the fact that the number of justices was originally an even number. This does not make sense to me because then the vote can be split, and therefore, the ruling would be indecisive. Since 1869, there has been nine Supreme Court judges consecutively. Before that, the number of Supreme Court Justices has varied throughout the years. The least amount of Justices there has ever been is five, and the most amount of Justices there has been was ten. Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, in total, one hundred and fifteen Justices have served. 

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Blog Post #1

The main source of media I use to find out new information is through the app TikTok. TikTok is a platform where creators can post content they want other people to hear. I do not like reading long articles because I tend to get distracted and bored. I like how on TikTok, I can listen to news stories rather than read them. Also, I like how TikTok shows viewers posts that they are interested in based on their prior engagement. I would recommend TikTok because they are short videos. Normally, videos are fifteen seconds long, so it forces the creator to give a quick summary of the story by only highlighting the most important points.

https://www.tiktok.com/

The next social media platform I use to find new stories is Instagram. On Instagram, I use the explore tab to find stories that I might be interested in. Similar to TikTok, the explore page shows users posts that they would like based off of prior engagement. I would recommend Instagram because of how convenient it is. Users can follow other accounts and see the news stories that they are posting.  Additionally, users can find news by searching hashtags. What is also good about Instagram is that users can comment directly on someone's page, they can share their thoughts in the comments, and interact with other users. 

https://www.instagram.com/

I am not a big Snapchat user, but when I do go on it, I always check out the Discover page. On the Discover page, one can find news stories. What I like about this platform is how short and quick the stories are. I can see a quick summary of current events rather than reading a lengthy article. Other people would like to use Snapchat for news because it contains such a wide variety of news stories, such as SEVENTEEN and National Geographic.  

https://www.snapchat.com/

If I want to find out about formal news on campus, I use High Point Universty's website. On the High Point University website, there is a News and Media section. I like how the news stories are arranged in chronological order, so if I am looking for a specific story, I can look for it based off of the date. Other people would like this website because one can keyword search for stories and find exactly what they are looking for.  

https://www.highpoint.edu/newsandmedia/

If I want to find out about news going around at school that is informal and more gossip-based, I use the app YikYak. YikYak is an app where people in a community can post information. What I like about YikYak is that I can find out information extremely fast. Typically, if I am confused about something going on on campus, I will post a question. For instance, if I am curious about what the hours are at the Caf I can post and wait for someone to respond to me.  Other people would like YikYak because users can post anonymously, which is beneficial because people are brutally honest.

https://yikyak.com