Free Speech

This semester has really proved to me that free speech is a magnificent power and should be used by all to change the world. It seems that free speech is all around us and if we just open our eyes we can see how different people are trying to tell us something. I started this class thinking that speaking and voicing our opinions was a main type of free speech, but now I realize that blogging and writing can be just as effective. Also, for me it seems that blogging is more effective because of the shy personality that I have. Blogging allows me to share my thoughts and concerns with the world and not fear public speaking. This is a practice that I hope to continue after this class.

Privacy Concerns

My group project has really got me thinking, so I wanted to share. We are doing a presentation on wiretapping and it made me think about how I think about my privacy. I am a pretty private person, and as I learned about how easy it is for people to ease drop and wiretap, I began to get nervous. Has anyone ever experienced a negative or positive example of wiretapping or ease dropping?

Media Bias

This is an excerpt from my capstone on column writing. I thought it fit well. I hope to hear people's thoughts.

"The biggest issue that journalists face in their writing is bias. All writers have their own thoughts, and while columnists are able to use their personal bias in their writing, journalists can not. In the book Bias, Bernard Goldberg explores bias in the media. He wrote that in many of the news organizations liberal thoughts overtake the writing and reporting in both editors and reporters because reporters write what the editor wants. However, he went on to say that being a liberal journalist is acceptable to most reporters “as long as we keep out biases out of the stories we cover, [because] what’s the difference how we feel about abortion or gun control?” (Goldberg, 118). While bias will always be in a reporters mind, journalists need to make their biases disappear in order to write both sides of the story."

Bias and Ethics

Watching the movie in class on Wednesday made me fear the future of our media. Bill O'Reily is a very powerful man because he can speak well and speak strongly to his audience. It is true, I think, that people look for answers and his strength may give people answers that they want. Still, this does not make it true information. Journalists follow an ethical code and his biased answers and information does not follow that code. I think all people know how to spot bias, but they will listen to whatever they want to hear. I guess my hope is to have people remember to look at both sides.

Blogging

While writing my essay on blog, I realized how much importance free speech brings. I really enjoyed reading other people's blogs in depth and was inspired to continue writing a blog of some sort after this class. While I also appreciate the importance of free speech and use it wisely, I now understand the importance of using life experiences as free speech. One person's story and life experiences can really change another person's life.

What would you do?

In the last class we watched a movie that asked the question, "Would you stand with a group of people who you disagreed with?" I really thought about this and decided that yes, if I knew it was a form of helping the community or better helping the environment. I feel that I would be able to put my anger aside of one day to make a better solution for the future. This really interested me, I would love to hear others thoughts.

What is Art?

In the last class we talked about where the line is drawn between porn and art. I feel that there is a difference, but every person is entitled to their own expression. I was a dancer and a musician for many years and understand the importance of personal expression. This is where one can show their talent and their ideas to the world through different forms. But when does personal expression end and porn begin? Maybe in the case of Annie Sprinkle, her personal expression was describing things as a sexual artist. I guess what I am asking is, does having dance shoes on or a paint brush in hand make something art? Or can a lecture about sex also be art?

Privacy

In class, we have been talking about our class seminar group talk, but because of capstone and my job, I feel like I have been slipping. I know that managing time is an important lesson in being a college student, but recently I feel like I have failed. However, in our group we have been talking about whether politicians should be given more privacy. I agree that they probably deserve more privacy, but I also feel that they have put themselves out into the public to be judged. If politicians are doing their job well, maybe they should not be judged for their private lives; but isn't that one of the reasons (how they conduct their private lives) why we elected them in the first place?

Information in the Classroom

At times it seems like our society is growing and becoming more open minded about race, gender, and sexuality, but then I hear some comment or some idea and I am shocked at where we still are. In our group this week, we talked about being open minded and accepting all people and it was suggested that these ideas be taught in classrooms. While some disagreed and thought that it should be up to the parents to teach these ideas to their children, I think that a child will only learn about most of these issues away from parents. Sure a child will learn values and respect from parents, but sometimes it is nice to have another voice influencing children as they grow especially in the classroom. It might even be that hearing about issues in school will allow the child to be more open with a parent and hold a discussion around the topic. I think that a child should be given lots (even too much) information on all sides of a subject, and then they can decide for themselves what they want to believe as they grow. I don't know, it is an interesting topic.

Evolution

In the last class we talked about whether or not evolution should or should not be legal in classrooms. Learning about the past, made me realize that the present is not so different. I remember in my 9th grade biology class my teacher had trouble teaching evolution. He told us that he loved teaching evolution, but at the same time was scared because there is so much controversy around the subject. He gave us the option of staying in class and learning (in the one week he taught us) or leaving and sitting in study hall. He did not test any of us on evolution or other ideas because he did not want to worry about bringing controversy to our classroom. I thought this was a good way of teaching evolution, but it was still not fair to those people who really wanted to learn. Who knows, if I had received the proper lectures and testing that he put forth on other subjects in the class, maybe I would be a biologist today.

I guess there is no good way around this issue, but keeping an open mind about all sides of evolution will help for future classrooms.

Bias?

After reading about the recent “New York Times” article about John McCain's affair (or non affair) I was amazed by the reaction that it received. It not only caused a stir in the country, it caused a stir in multiple television shows and television personalities as well. For example on "The View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck talked about how this really represents the news' liberal bias. Does the news have a liberal bias? According to the book "Bias" by Bernard Goldberg, it does. In this book he explores the liberal bias that reporters, news organizations and editors hold. But, the news' ultimate goal is to tell the truth and the facts about current issues, so what is really the truth? I am interested in hearing what other people have to say about this issue, either being about McCain and the New York Times or about bias in general.

Taking a Stance

In the last class, we were asked if there was anything that we felt so strongly about that we would keep standing and talking even if there were stones being thrown at us. I began to think about this and decided that one thing right now in my life is my family. I know that there are other things that I care about (one including gay rights), but the one thing that I would die for is my family. I think that the reasoning for this is because, while my life and thoughts are blossoming through college, I am not leading my own life alone just yet. I am still receiving financial help from my parents and I am in this safety net that college allows me to have. Yes, I am forming my life into what I want it to be, but I have not taken on all of the responsibilities of leading it alone yet. I think that as I get pushed out into the world on my own, my courage will also find what I stand for. I believe that in 5 years (or even just next year) after I graduate and take on the responsibilities, benefits, and burdens of being my own adult, my stances and courage will evolve into more things.

Seminar Thoughts

Wednesday in class we talked in our seminars for the first time and I really enjoyed it. I first thought that this would be a terrible idea to sit in groups for a class and just talk about our readings, but it was really interesting. I enjoyed the fact that we did not have to follow a set of questions and answer everything as if we were taking a pop quiz; instead we were able to talk about what was really important to us while following the topic of our readings. My group became very off-topic but to this day I am still thinking about some of the issues we discussed. One thing that really sparked my attention was who really controls the news and the media and how people respond to what they are telling us. We decided that while the older generations tend to believe the anchors to the fullest, younger generations are beginning to realize that we need to also find our own information. With all of the resources that we have today, one including the internet, we can not always believe what people tell us. The news is there to tell viewers the facts and it does, but people also have to remember that it is every person’s responsibility to understand issues (like the election) on their own and form their own opinions.

Free Speech

What is free speech? After writing the essay on what free speech is to me, I realized that I had many thoughts on it. To me, free speech is a power that every person holds, and in order to make it useful to themselves and others, it all depends on how they choose to use this power. I use my power of free speech frequently in an opinion column that I write about my thoughts and life. I use it to sort through my thoughts and concerns that I may come across and while this is a great use of my own free speech, I’m not sure how it helps others. So what really comes from free speech? Sure I can write something down, have it published, and have other people read it, but I wondered what really comes from it all? In the book, Outspoken, it was quoted that “Ninety percent of what you get through intelligence channels is worthless, but it doesn’t matter whether it’s valuable to us or not. We should provide this information because we have it and because it’s a part of acknowledging the past. It may be embarrassing, it may not help people solve rights cases, but that’s why we should do it.” While this quote was talking about a murder cover up in the CIA, it seemed to semi answer my question. Free speech is not only a privilege, it is a responsibility for us all. Maybe by me writing my column, which sorts through my issues, I am helping another college woman think about issues in her life. And from that I may be helping her sort through her issues making her life less stressful, which is in my opinion a positive use of free speech.