Freedom of Speech is a gift that recently Americans have let slip through. In the eyes of people, today's freedom of speech can be taken in the worst of ways. Our freedom of speech should be a way for us to vent and speak what is on our minds. People are nervous to say what is actually on their minds due to the backlash society may have. As a college student in recent years, I have seen the fight for limiting freedom of speech on college campuses. These issues are growing due to race, sexual orientation, religion, and even politics. Views of different professors are starting to make students uncomfortable and create an unfit learning environment. 88% of college campuses have some type of restrictions on free speech. Schools have been placed in categories called red light, yellow light and green lights. A red light school is stated to have at least one policy that clearly restricts or prevents freedom of speech. A yellow light school is when the policies restrict someone's expressive freedoms or vague wording. Lastly, a green light school is when policies don’t seriously impair speech.
Even though freedom of speech doesn't feel as free as it should, there are so many amazing values that come with it. Throughout class, I was able to dive deep into some of those values that we have with freedom of speech. One of those values is to Promote Invitation. This states that a community where freedom of speech is promoted is to be more enthusiastic, creative, and overall more interested in society. Jack Balkin dives deep into what the actual meaning of Promoting Innovation really is in his book Living Originalism. He explains how the new changes in the world still keep and need the original backbone of the Constitution. We have kept the original meaning of our Constitution in our everyday lives to protect our liberties.
Going back to the beginning of my argument, this value can be seen right in a classroom. Professors who let their students speak freely no matter what race, political view, or sexual orientation have great conversations. This creates a discussion where all students can speak even if they don't have the same views as everyone else. The reason that this value resonated with me was because I've seen this value in action. I used to work at an animal hospital during my senior year of high school. I worked as kennel staff and doctor's assistant. My coworkers and I were always running around doing every chore and helping the doctors for 6-8 hours a day. We were understaffed, stressed, and always tired. The vet techs never wanted to help us out and would always be on their phones. This created a very hostile environment. A job I loved so much started to feel like a chore. We were all scared to say something to the older staff due to the fear of repercussions. Finally, we got the courage to have a meeting with one of our bosses. We kindly sat her down and told her how we feel. This was the best decision we made. She listened to us and fixed all of the problems. This created a safe place to say what's on our minds. From that moment on everyone's demeanor changed and made working there fun again. This was just one example as to why this value has so much meaning to me. I do fear that
In conclusion, freedom of speech has a new look to it, but the original foundation still makes up what we go by each day. Promoting Innovation is such an important way for the world to communicate. Stating what you feel creates an environment with less hostility, violence, and overall conflict. By giving everyone a chance to participate and say how they feel the world can live in harmony. Even though there are some flaws to this form due to not everyone having the same viewpoints. When we respect each individual and what they have to say it reduces the flaws of disagreement.
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