U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is a key part to our government's system and structure and always has been. While I have already learned so much about the Supreme Court throughout my lifetime there is still a surprising amount of information I was unaware of. To start off, I was unaware that when the Supreme Court was established in 1789, it gave Congress the power to create inferior federal courts. This is something that I never thought of as I never researched the beginning of the Supreme Court. Another piece fo information about the Supreme Court that I was unaware of was that the justices were required to hold circuit court twice a year and within each judicial court as well. At the time travel methods were very difficulty so I cannot image how difficult this must be and see why it was abolished after 100 years. I believe the most important take away from what I learned about the Supreme Court is just how long it has been around. and how it has stayed relevant to this day. From the very beginning the Supreme Court ruled the justice system and this proves that it is just as effective as it has always been. I believe the most surprising thing I had learned was about the first every court case. The fact that it was a simple case between a farmer and a family he had owed debt to shows that no matter the situation, big or small, the supreme court will take care of it. My thoughts for the Supreme Court have not changed too much. The only thing. that is now different for me is I have a lot more respect because of how long it has stayed relevant. Overall. I never viewed the history of the Court and found it very intriguing to see just how long these decision have been being made. 

The 8 Values of Expression

Stable Change, a value created by Benedict Spinoza and a key part of the 8 Values of Expression, brings forth a very important idea. This idea brings up the issue of hate speech and the way in which it is protected by the government. Why or why not is this an issue? Spinoza believes, "It has been suggested that a society in which angry and alienated citizens are allowed to speak their mind, or "vent," will be more stable, as people will be less likely to resort in violence." This is something that I completely agree with and feel is very prevalent in our current society. Currently, they're our huge debates going on around the country, whether it is about covid-19, war, sexuality, etc. we are all allowed to express truly how we feel whether it may be hateful or not. This is what gets conversation going, helps up solve problems, come up with new ideas, and overall evolves as a civilization. A very prevalent example of this is a protest that occurred just this week. The protest took place in front of the capital where over 35,000 people marched against vaccine mandates. Whether people would like to consider this hate speech or not, is goes against what a large group of people in this country believe and sparks conversation. A conversation that will helps us communicate, plan, and move on. 

Promote Innovation, another value, apart of the 8 values of expression, that really catches my idea. This value was created by Jack Balkin  and brings forth the idea that a community and space where free speech is valued and protected, is much more likely to be interesting, and creative and energetic. One thing that our country is none for and that makes us so special is our ideas. We express ourselves like on one else and discover so many new creative ways of thinking and teaching and expressing ourselves. We show this within our companies, movies, social media presence, etc. This is discussed in great detail with an article by Shrutin Shetty called, Why are Americans consistently more Innovative and Entrepreneurial? Without our first amendment rights, we would never be where we are today. With the ability to express ourselves, talked about our ideas, create conversation, and even assemble together, we are able to bring forth so many new ideas freely and openly. 

Lastly, Protect Dissent, 8th and final value created by Steve Shriffin, discusses the individuals right to go against the majority, and even the government. This is so important in todays society and can be easily overlooked. It is also an ideal that i personally really agree with as I feel that I am someone who tends to lean away from the majority rule and take things and make them my own. One last comment I would like to add is that not all of the 8 Values of Expression are huge things that may change everything but while working together and all being used at the same time we can see a true change and they way they make our country that much more special. 

Top 5 Sources of News and Information

Throughout the years there has been a wide variety of sources that people have gotten their news and information from. For the longest times news papers were the sole source of this information. This evidently switched to the television and new stations, to now in todays society, social media. 

Twitter is currently the most popular source used for news and information by todays generation. With access to Twitter straight from your phone, real time feedback and updates it is very difficult for anyone else to compete. However, it does seem like Twitter is beginning to slow down and may be passed soon by other apps or websites. 

Facebook is another huge social media source for receiving news and information. However, this one is more for the older generations. It was the Twitter before Twitter. Facebook is still very important ,however, as it allows for every generations to stay connected to current events and keeps families in contact. Facebook is also very easy to use allowing for individuals with very little social media knowledge to gather news and information easily . 

Snapchat is another form of social media that is currently taking over the lives of our generation. Snapchat is the jack of all trades when it comes to social media apps. It allows for communication, entertainment, news, photo albums, and more. With all this available at your finger tips it goes without said that if you're going to use Snapchat for all of these other things you might as well use it to discover current events and news going on within the world.

Instagram, Snapchat and Twitters' biggest competitor, is another huge social media platform used for news and information. Instagram for a very long time now as been a huge information source for this generation. With features such as 'stories' people are able to post in real time current events occurring around the world. Also options and features that allow individuals to share other peoples posts makes information and news spread very quickly.

Lastly, Youtube, a source that not many people would think of right away when asked about news and information. However, for the newer generation Youtube has become very popular in delivering current events and keeping everyone up to date. One thing Youtube can do that many of these other sources cannot, is create very long detailed videos on these current events. The other platforms mentioned spit out quick information, while Youtube has the ability to do both.