Eight Values of Free Expression: Promote Innovation

     Free Speech is arguably what makes America profoundly unique. Our first amendment right to "free expression" is infamous. While it is a profound pillar of our rights as Americans, it's a little bit more complex than a nice excuse for saying "whatever you want." Our free speech's safety is vital to our country's economy and community. We must be smart, respectable, and intentional with our words and actions in order to respect the Constitution as much as it respects us.

    One of the most critical facets of free expression is our responsibility to Promote Innovation. This is vital to the stability of our community and eventually to our economy. Innovation prospers in communities where free speech is valued and protected. These members of these communities are likely more energized, creative, and interesting as they are actively trying to fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways. 

    This kind creativity is what brought us the first printing press and the first Apple computer. When a society of people realize a collective need they begin to innovate and typically this kind of innovation, while the steps may be slow and small, have the capacity to completely change the world. 

    I believe it's really important for innovation to be promoted after childhood and into adolescence and adulthood. A great way to do this is for adults to get involved in community art classes or events. This can look like those "Wine and Design" shops. It can also look UNC Chapel Hill's MakerSpace. This is a lab fit with 3-D printers and other state of the art design equipment, and it's all meant for college students and others in the community. It's meant for creatives to further educate themselves and have fun doing it. There you will find professionals that volunteer or work to aid the creatives full time, so you're never on your own through the process. The space also promotes collaboration, which in turn creates bonds between community members.

    Free speech is an important aspect when we speak of respecting and promoting innovation. I was lucky enough to investigate and create a short package discussing this MakerSpace. This will be linked below. Feel free to skip to minute 4:00 to hear more about this hub of innovation.

    Another freedom that I believe is essential for the growth is the Promotion of Self-Actualization. This goes hand in hand with Innovation as I believe we achieve more as we become more self aware. This is important to free speech because as we speak and act freely we create and innovate, and in the process we find kindred spirits. This is when free speech begins to lose some of its legality and gain humanity.

    An example of promoting self actualization are the various religious groups in our communities. I believe that the discovery of what you believe is the beginning of discovering who you are. A great example of this how communities come together to encourage Jewish children with Bat mitzvahs or Bar Mitzvahs. In the Christian community YoungLife ministries works hand in hand with parents and the school bored to provide fun and safe activities that hopefully lead to real-life conversations. These conversations and experiences that people in these communities share leads to further self-discovery for the teen or adolescent. 

    Without free speech the way we innovate and grow individually and collectively would not be the same, There is value in our free expression as a creative and as a member of my community.

MakerSpace piece, skip to minute 4:00 - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYJs9dTs270&t=321s 

Technology Through the Ages: Emoticons

       If you were born after 2000 you grew up knowing what emoticons were and how to use them while typing. It was always a way to express how you were feeling or what you were about. While those who are college aged now have been quite comfortable with the advanced "emoji's," this phenomenon of colorful hearts and sushi icons is still less than a decade old. Let's take it back to the beginning.

   As Hannah Malugen so kindly reported the first resemblance of an "emoji" was Scott Fahlman's ":-) and :-(" in 1982. These were meant to express what kind of post (serious or humorous) was being posted to the discussion board. In 1999 the first true emoji's were created. These were used for a few years and then the ones 2000 babies grew up using were created. These were simple icons of anything from an angry face to a lollipop. 

    In 2010 a software company called Unicode created a system that adapted all emoji's and keyboards to all programmings. Another huge advancement to emoji's was when Apple created their own emoji software in 2011. This software by Apple is what looks most like the current eight pages of emoji's we have now!

    Emoji's have always been a fun too to enhance a users online experience, but since their creation they've of course come with their fair share of negative impacts as well. For example, users may be accustomed to use them and with the casual state of most relationships accidentally use them in a professional setting. Emoji's have only recently been more inclusive, with the 2016 update there were people in wheelchairs and single parent icons. Some emojis are also used to communicate things that others could take offense to. In this case they can be used as a cop out in place of saying what the person actually means. This leads to the biggest con in my opinion: that emoji's are so simply interpreted incorrectly.

    All that being said there are some pretty awesome things about emoji's. For example, they provide a better way to communicate how the user is feeling. It is also great for people communicating who may not speak the same primary languages. They're also a great tool when a user is trying to communicate something quickly. 

    As an avid user of this emoji's  I am thankful for the advancements made over the past thirty years, and I hope we see greater developments in the future!

History of Communication Technology: The Printing Press

Today walking up to a printer and either pushing a button on your computer or scanning your school ID is as complicated as it gets when it come to printing, but a little over 500 years ago, things looked a lot different. In order for there to be a copy of a book made, it all had to be done by hand. 

Towards the end of the Middle Ages mechanics and engineers all over the world began to play around with the idea of mechanized printing. Some countries actually made leaps and bound for this engineering pursuit. For example, China in the 13th century came up with the idea of carving wooden blocks that could be rearranged and pressing them onto paper with ink. While this is great, and we now refer to it as "stamping," it was time consuming, so there was still room for growth.

Johannes Gutenberg

Luckily Germany was working on something pretty cool. Around 1440 Johannes Gutenberg created a way to engineer wood panels to fall and rise in order to mechanically print ink to paper.  This is called the  Printing Press! Gutenberg came from a Nobel family and was a practiced stonecutter and goldsmith.l These skills lead to helping him develop the perfect alloy metal composition of the metal blocks. 

The printing press was invented during the Renaissance propelling that time of creativity and enlightenment further than it had even gone before. The rigidity the the Middle Ages made everyone, especially the lower and middle class, very aware of how knowledge gave the upper class great power over them. The only way to learn these new Enlightenment era ideas was either through word of mouth or reading them. 

Knowledge has always been power, and until the 15th century, power had only been for the wealthy due to the high price of books and education. The invention of the printing press changed everything for the poor. Now because of the low production cost of books, knowledge was now the power of the public. 

But this process did take time. Originally, Gutenberg tried to keep the mechanics of the press a secret because of the great power it held to change the world. And before they knew it, word had traveled, quite literally. Within 50 years of the presses invention, 2500 European cities had their own press. 

One of Gutenberg's first projects was the infamous Gutenberg Bible which he produced 200 copies. These expensive and ornate books were only accessible to the rich, but eventually the press allowed the Bible to be produced in mass. This development changed how the church would read the Bible, and then eventually how the Gospel would spread across the world. 

a preserved Gutenberg

Without the printing press the Church would not be the same, and without the church and the division that was caused somewhat by personal interpretation, America would not be what she is today. Knowledge propelled creativity, and thanks to the creativity of the Renaissance we live in a society of free thought. 

So in short, we have a lot to thank the printing press for.

sources:

https://users.manchester.edu/FacStaff/SSNaragon/Kant/lp/Readings/11-Kreis,%20Printing%20Press.pdf

https://www.britannica.com/technology/printing-press

Post 4: Anti-War Opinions in Mainstream Media ? Never.

There's a reason we never see the "radical" anti-war sentiment on the main stream media like you can find on AntiWar.com or theamericonservative.com. 

This is because America was founded on war, survived because of war, and thrived because of war, therefore, war is inherently American. 

From a young age we're taught to idealize war from the media we consume to the things we play with. G.I. Joe a soldier toy popularized in the last few decades, gives little boys and girls an image of what a strong American soldier looks like. If you can't recall the original doll was in fact, a white male. 

Growing up as a Christian, like many in the United States, I was taught to "Love Thy Neighbor" the words and commandments of Jesus and his apostles rang like sweet wisdom to my ears, and they still do this day. 

But it's confusing. Right? The same men and women who tell us to love our neighbors are the same ones voting for the representatives who employ war in foreign nations. Are air strikes an act of loving our neighbor's well? 

This thinking is similar to the thinking of those who write on the anti-war news cites. The editor of Antiwar.com writes "This site is devoted to the cause of non-interventionism and is read by libertarians, pacifists, leftists, "greens," and independents alike, as well as many on the Right who agree with our opposition to imperialism."

This is why you don't see it on mainstream media, because everything anti-war belongs to those who are not of the main two parties. Democrats can tell you how much they care about human rights and Republicans can talk about human trafficking all day long, but if you ever mentioned shutting down parts of the military to help solve either issue, the room would be pin-drop silent. 

It's sad to say but the reason we really don't hear these anti war voices on CNN or Fox News is becasause America is pro-war. We may not always agree what wars we should be fighting, but power is about money, and money is about control. And how do you gain control? War.

Post 3: Black Lives Matter Protests and the First Amendment

The killing of George Floyd sparked a revolution in America. In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, protests began. These began peaceful and then eventually some became riots and in the case of Portland, Oregon, the riots turned into complete anarchy.

This is when true chaos began, but the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement is peaceful. Shortly after the video of George Floyd's brutal death, another victim's case went viral, a woman named Breonna Taylor.

In this case Breonna was shot and killed in her boyfriend's home. She was unarmed. Protesters, activists, and politicians have been calling for the police officers who shot her to face consequences. 

This has been an ongoing case, and finally just last week, a grand jury ruled that those police officers would face no time. 

The people of Charlotte, NC, just like many others across America responded. The peaceful protests began Saturday morning on North Tyron street by the Black Lives Mural. 

WBTV Web Staff reported that "...hundreds of protesters walked through uptown shouting to put an end to social and racial injustice, along with police brutality..."

This specific march on September 26th was, by all means, constitutional. The words they were saying are protected by their freedom of speech, the actions they were taking were peaceful, therefore they are protected by their freedom of assembly.

This was one of the good days.

On a not so good day, night would've come, and riots would've replaced the sound of high schoolers playing drums with gunshots and sounds of violence. 

This violence would probably not be constitutional. The rioters could argue that they're exercising their right to Assembly and protest, but the Speech and Action Dichotomy (a result of  1915 film case) and the Bedrock Principles would argue otherwise.

The Speech and Action Dichotomy is a rule the courts use which states an individual or group cannot be prosecuted for speech but if that speech was to turn into action, there would be reason for arrest. 

The Bedrock Principles echo this by stating the freedom of assembly is not a shield against laws of general applicability. This is why the violence Portland is experiencing is unconstitutional. Their freedom of assembly should not encroach upon others peoples property or the safety of their communities. 

Thankfully what happened in Charlotte last weekend was one of the good days. These good days are more important to understand than the bad ones. For on the good days a fight is being made for peace, unity, and restoration for all people.

source: https://www.wbtv.com/2020/09/26/demonstrators-march-unity-uptown-charlotte/