Participation in Self Government

 

    After reading about the Eight Values of Free Expression, I was very intrigued. As much as the first amendment seems simple, there are so many other components within it that I was not aware of. There are many loopholes, exceptions, and rules that are created that can affect the way that the first amendment is protected. After reading through the list of the Eight Values of Free Expression, Participation in Self Government truly stood out to me as one of the values with the most significance. 

    Participation in Self Government basically means that society needs to be well informed by the people in power so that they can make educated and well thought out decisions. This is extremely essential to our society because knowledge is one of the strongest weapons. Our government can use knowledge or the lack there of against us. By keeping the public uninformed, they are easily manipulated and can be quickly swayed by a simple argument due to the fact that they do not grasp the entire situation. Without an educated public, however, this can also negatively impact the government. An uninformed society is a stupid one, and although it may be beneficial for some governments to have a society that is easily manipulated, our society strives off of having an opinionated and strong willed public. 

    Something that has contributed so greatly to our society's ability to gain understanding and knowledge about our government, world, and political issues, is the internet and social media. With social media and the internet right at your finger tips almost every second of every day, news can be found out with just the push of a button. Even when you are not searching for it you are constantly bombarded with information about the current news in the world from social media and other websites. It is almost unavoidable now to stay in the dark about what it happening in the world since it is so constantly pushed into our faces. While this is great at keeping us educated, it also brings in the struggle of fake news. Many of the sources we may see throughout are day are not reliable. This now makes it hard for us to sift through all the news sources to find out exactly what is true and what it's not. Many people do not bother to look further into what they read on the internet and just believe that the first thing they saw must be true. This creates for a lot of falsehoods in the media because people are not fact checking their information. 

    The relationship between our government and the public is best when we can have communication between the two. A good government keeps its public informed on what is happening within our country and within the world around it. By keeping information a secret it creates a distrustful relationship with the public. Knowledge is essential in allowing the public to trust their government as well as be smart about the decisions they are making regarding it. Without a knowledgable society, mistakes are made and the entire country is hurt by it. This is why I feel that Participation in Self Government is one of the most important values of free expression.