The Importance of Promoting Innovation

 

          All eight values of free expression speak to me, as I recognize the important of living in a country that gives its citizens fundamental rights. As a Broadcast Journalism major and theatre minor, promoting innovation is extremely important to me. If free speech was not protected under the constitution, I would have picked another major and minor. The idea behind promoting innovation is that when free speech is valued and protected, the community will be more energized, creative and interesting because they will actively fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways. As a journalism major, I exercise my freedom of speech by constantly jotting down topics and events that interest me. I then interview people and write feature pieces on what is going on. The reason why people read these articles and the articles that are on various news sources, is because they are unfiltered and true. Free speech gives journalists the capability to push the limits without constantly looking behind their back with the worry they might go to prison. The pieces that are remembered in history are the ones that uncover some scandalous government secret or the exposés on powerful members of society. None of these would be written without our first amendment right. Journalists are able to write what they want and thus the world of journalism keeps innovating and pushing the boundaries of what journalism is.

    Another aspect of promoting innovation that is important to me is performing arts. My minor is theatre and I love to attend and be in shows that are powerful and have a message. Most of the time, the shows are very innovative because the artist choose to take a risk. For example, Hamilton is one of the most famous broadway musicals ever made. Lin-Manuel Miranda write the show and took some extremely big innovative risks. Instead of only focusing on Alexander Hamilton's positive contributions to the government, he took a deeper look into his personal life. This made audience's realize that he wasn't just some untouchable hero that they previously thought. This show probably wouldn't have been written so harshly if free speech wasn't protected. Speaking poorly about the government can get people into a lot of trouble in other countries.  The very culture of the United States of America is built on an influx of ideas and colorful speech. Free speech is arguably the most important right given to us as citizens of the United States. A nation where millions of people are not afraid to speak their mind fosters a society that is continually changing for the better. 

Antiwar sentiments not showcased on the news?

 

        

    Have you ever wondered why you never hear from people who are anti war are on the mainstream media? To be honest, I haven't really given the issue much thought but I've quickly come to the realization that there doesn't seem to be much place for antiwar views in the mainstream media. 

    Websites like Antiwar and the American conservative are websites that house very strong antiwar sentiments. If I didn't know where to look, I probably would have never found these websites. However, it is crucial for these websites to exist. Just because we don't actively see or hear about it on the news, doesn't mean it isn't a widely help viewpoint. 

    The mainstream media is notorious for not giving the American people the whole truth. Everything we see on the news goes through multiple edits and modifications before making it out into the media. Because of this, antiwar sentiments are not showcased because it doesn't fit the media's agenda. While I hate admitting this, the media is strategic about what the show in the news. Antiwar messages are not good for the news, because the media needs the support of American citizens for war. We are known for being a patriotic country and if the antiwar sentiments were shown on the news the support for the wars would shift. Without that support, the United States wicked be thrown into chaos. People would not regularly volunteer to serve or support our armed forces. 

      In order for the country to be in a peaceful state, overwhelming support for the wars we engage in is important. While the government doesn't completely censor or take down antiwar sentiments, they certainly make them harder to find. This should make us as citizens wary of anything we see on the mainstream media. 

Do Black Lives Matter Protests follow the First Amendment?

     The first amendment in the United States Constitution gives citizens six fundamental rights: freedom from religion, freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. Today, I will be delving deeper into the first amendment right of speech and assembly in relation to Black Lives Matter protests. 

        In Portland, Oregon a group of protestors threatened to burn a young couple's house down for displaying the American flag outside of their house. According to the Bedrock Principles, first amendment protection is not absolute. You can not go out and threaten people and expect to be protected by the first amendment. Threatening people is against the law and you can be prosecuted for it. However, it is OK to attend BLM protests and express outrage for police brutality. It is our right to criticize the government and let them know that the lawless racial targeting and killing of people disgusting and something needs to be done about it. All of the great changes in our society have been a direct result of people speaking up and demanding that change must take place. For example, the 19th amendment giving woman the right to vote was passed because of all the outspoken people in the country speaking out. Most of the speech happening in response to police brutality for the BLM movement is peaceful and protected under the first amendment. 

                                    

              Pictured above is BLM protestors marching through a residential area in Portland, Oregon.

       Unfortunately, although the majority of BLM protestors are peaceful the chaotic ones are more often portrayed in the news. The first amendment protects the right to assemble, as long as it is peaceful. We are seeing the difference between what is peaceful and what isn't especially now with the multitude of BLM protests that are occurring. In Oregon, BLM protestors used random furniture around a predominantly white neighborhood as fuel for fire. This is crossing a line that is obviously property destruction and not peaceful. Even when a small percentage of people are setting things on fire in the name of Black Lives Matter, it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many people. 

                                             Pictured above is BLM protestors in Portland, Oregon. 

    The Black Lives Matter movement has ignited a fire in many across the nation and have allowed for many necessary uncomfortable conversations to take place. Most people have abided by the first amendment when it comes to speaking out and protesting on the matter. However, there is a small percentage of people who ruin the message for countless across the country. If everyone acted in a way that was protected under the first amendment, I personally believe more change would happen in this country. 

Supreme Court Overview

  

      A common topic learned in grade school is the three branches of government. Embarrassingly enough, it has been years since I have had to properly think about the branches and the roles that they play within the United States government. Today's post will focus on the Supreme Court (which is part of the judicial branch) and I will be referencing information from this article.  

                                          Overview 

    The United States Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch and is the highest federal court in the nation. The Supreme Court was established by the constitution and has the ability to check the power of the legislative and executive branches. The ultimate job of the court is to make sure that laws in the United States are constitutional. 

                                           Early Days

    In 1789, Article Three of the United States Constitution established the Supreme Court. Congress had the power to decide how the court would be organized and this led to George Washington signing the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act stated that the court would be made up of six justices who would serve for life or until they retired. The court used its early days to sort out how it would be organized and they did not have their first case until 1791. 

                             

                                           Justices

    The executive branch has the power to appoint Supreme Court justices. The president nominates them and it is up to the U.S. Senate to confirm them. The first chief justice was John Jay. The chief justice presides over the Supreme Court and sets the agenda for meetings. Amongst many other responsibilities, the chief justice also presides over trials of impeachment. Currently, there are nine seats on the Supreme Court which is a change from the original six. Today, the chief justice is John Roberts Jr. and the associate justices are Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito, Sonia Sotomayer, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh. 

    

                                           Pictured is chief justice John Roberts Jr. 

                                      Notable Justices

There have been so many justices on the Supreme Court that are remembered in history for their significant contributions. Below, I have listed just a few of them. 

John Marshall: This chief justice is remembered for setting the precedent of judicial review in the case of Marbury v. Madison in 1803. Marshall was the fourth chief justice and served the longest term of any chief justice in history. 

Charles Evans Hughes: This chief justice was in charge when the court transitioned from being the protector of property rights to the protector of civil liberties in the 1930s. 

Earl Warren: This chief justice issued these landmark decisions: 

Brown v. Board of Education- Banned school segregation

Miranda v. Arizona-  Put Miranda rights in place 

Loving v. Virginia- Abolished interracial marriage prohibitions

William Howard Taft- He was the only person to serve as chief justice and president. 

                                     Final Thoughts

         It is important to note that even though the Supreme Court has made some very influential decisions, not all of them have been good choices. For example, in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford in 1857, the court denied citizenship to African American slaves. There are many other cases in the history of the United States that do not uphold traditional American values. It is important to judge every decision for yourself, instead of completely trusting every ruling of the court. The United States Supreme Court is an important part of the government and I am glad that after a few years, I have finally read up on it. 

My Top Five News Sources

As a journalism major, I pride myself on keeping up with what is happening in the world. There are so many different genres of news and it is important to expose yourself to all of them. This can be exhausting at times but having different sources is a helpful way to keep news interesting and fresh. Below I have cited my top five news sources and why I choose to consume them.

                                            1) BBC

BBC news has quickly become one of my default sources of news. I like this source because it has a nice mix of national and soft news stories that are really interesting. For example, today when I went on the website I immediately saw a story about a population boom of sea otters in British Columbia. This is interesting news that is devoid of politics (which typically stresses me out) but still teaches me about what is going on in the world. BBC is often underrated in the conversation about best news sources which is unfortunate because it is one of my favorite places to browse.

The above image is of a sea otter in British Columbia.

                                           2) CNN

 Even though politics can quickly gives me a headache, I still like to keep up on what is happening in the political spectrum. I always check CNN because it is one of the most popular news sources in the world. All of my family members use CNN as a trusted source and I want to keep up with their conversations. I am always cautious of the news that I read because it can be very biased. Even though there are multiple topics that CNN reports on, I solely use it for political news. For example, there is an interactive map of what senate seats are most likely to flip political sides in the 2020 election. This is interesting because it is interactive and there are explanation paragraphs for each senator about why they will probably lose their seat.

The above image is of Michigan senator Gary Peters. The CNN article says that Michigan might flip to having a republican senator because Trump won Michigan in the 2016 election.

                                          3) FOX

 Fox News is without a doubt the source that I am exposed to the most. My parents are die hard republicans who always have Fox News blasting on the television. However, when I'm at college I still find myself checking this source because it presents the other side of the political argument. If I check a left leaning source, it is only fair to check the right leaning counterpart. Like CNN, Fox News has many topics that it reports but I choose to only focus on the politics section. Fox has a lot of exclusive interviews with the president that I like to follow because I know that the words coming out of his mouth are real.

The above image is from an interview with Donald Trump, where he talks about the state of the country.

                                      4) Nepali Times

Most of my family lives in the small country of Nepal in Southeast Asia. My family has been very linked with the politics of Nepal and for that reason I keep up with the news there from time to time. The Nepali Times is the biggest news source in Nepal and it is fascinating to me. The top stories are not about politics or Covid-19, instead they are all about the rich history of the country. For example, for the first time a religious festival is being cancelled due to Covid-19. This article is about the history of the festival and it is so engaging.

The above photo is of a jasmine flower called Parijat. It is said that the god from heaven came down to earth to steal these flowers.

                                          5) People

After I have checked all of the national news and political happenings of the nation, I like to reward myself with a little bit of fun news. People is my preferred source of entertainment news and I receive notifications on my phone whenever there is a juicy update. I don't follow a lot of celebrities on social media, so People is how I keep up with what is happening in Hollywood. I have always been fascinated with the lives of celebrities and I tend to get invested in their lives. I can spend hours reading news on them and People is always one of the first sources to get updates. A story that I am currently following is about celebrity responses to the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman.

The above image is of Micheal B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman. Jordan has shared that he wishes the two had more time together in a heartfelt tribute.