A Value of Free Expression: Promoting Tolerance

Freedom of speech and expression is part of our American right as said so in the First Amendment of the Constitution. One of the eight values of free expression is to promote our tolerance of speech, including hate speech. Free speech does not and should not shield the government or the people from criticism. The First Amendment protects hateful speech because it teaches us to be more tolerant in other aspects of life. We as a society don't need to ban hate speech because society can regulate our speech by itself. It would be redundant if we were to ban hate speech. 

To support this idea, Lee Bollinger wrote The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech, which argues for protecting hate speech. According to Bollinger, tolerating hate speech is important because it provides a shield for mainstream political discourse, or spoken/written communication between the people and the government. The people should be able to say whatever they want to say, without worrying about any subsequent punishments.

The Promoting Tolerance theory is one of several important theories that explain the values of the First Amendment. Some other theories that support the idea of the Tolerance theory are the Stable Change theory and the Individual Self-Fulfillment theory. Because there are many values of free expression, it is natural that many of them would intertwine their ideas. The Stable Change theory is also known as the Safety Value theory. It explains how it is in the government's best interest to let any angry or unhappy citizens "vent" their opinions because they are less likely to resort to violence. I agree with this theory because I often need to "vent" out my angry emotions towards something, so then later down the line, I am more emotionally withdrawn and without letting the anger buildup. 

The Stable Change theory encourages hate speech to be spoken, which supports the Promoting Tolerance theory. With citizens being allowed to voice their racial or ethnic struggles without fear of being punished, they are more likely to let their anger not build up. Also by voicing their opinions, negative or positive, other people can respect the rights of them and would be less likely to not perceive them as threats. Promoting toleration therefore helps promote a stable and open society.

The other theory is the Individual Self-Fulfillment theory, also known as the Self-Actualization theory. It supports how free speech enables individuals to think for themselves and believe what they want to believe. Free speech identified in this theory also includes hate speech, which is also encouraged by the Promoting Tolerance theory. Since there are so many Americans that come from many different countries, live in very different states, and have all unique cultures, allowing individuals to think for themselves is best. Everyone has a different religious, cultural, and ethnic background, so allowing any one person to do what works best for them, would create a happier and more functioning society. To help the larger group, everyone's individual needs must be met. 

Many other theories also coincide with the Tolerance theory, but the Stable Change theory and the Individual Self-Fulfillment theory are the two best.

To bring the Promoting Tolerance theory to the real world, this theory has helped grow the idea of cancel culture, which may have brought more bad than good. Cancel culture is defined by the Pew Research Center as "a movement to remove celebrity status or esteem from a person, place, or thing based on offensive behavior or transgression." It not only affects celebrities and famous people, but also affects the political system and the idea of free speech. 

Many people debate over what cancel culture means, deciding if it's a way to hold people accountable or an unjust way of punishing others. Cancel culture is probably mix of both, but over the past few years, it has gotten out of control. It cancels Tiktok influencers and celebrities over a single trivial mistake, holding them accountable to detrimental consequences. 

Most recently, it canceled celebrity Noah Schnapp. Noah expressed controversial views about the Israel/Palestine conflict and the Internet became very upset about it. Not only are millions of his fans hating him, but many are stating how they are going to boycott season five of his show Stranger Things. This is obviously a huge negative reaction from Noah expressing his freedom of speech by voicing his opinions online. Not only is Noah being unjustly hated on, but if no one watches the new season of his show, millions of dollars will be lost, costing the other people their time and money invested in the show. 

Even though it stemmed from the Promoting Tolerance theory, cancel culture can have devastating affects on people. However, as society grows and the government removes censorship, cancel culture and other ways are how we as a society spread norms about acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Regardless of the benefits or negatives of the Promoting Tolerance theory, this theory is supportive of free expression because of its importance to democracy and self expression. 

For information about the values of free expression, I read this list and looked at this website on the Free Speech website. For information about cancel culture and Noah Schnapp, I looked at this Buzzfeed article and and article from Pew Research.