I feel like protecting dissent is probably the most important freedom of expression value. The reason I believe this is because this connects directly to the first amendment and democracy, and is a key and essential value to have if one Is truly striving for democracy. It is essential that people can disagree and have constructive conversations about their beliefs, otherwise there is no point to freedom of speech or Democracy. usually one of two things will happen when exposed to other beliefs, one being that you will come around and see a new opinion and maybe think a little differently about your own beliefs, or you become even more affirmed or reassured in your own beliefs, which either way can be a good thing. I also think that it is important to not be surrounded by only people who think, talk, and act like you. I believe that it is important to expose yourself to people with different opinions and values to avoid being sucked in by the constant reassurance of your own beliefs. However, if that disagreement and criticism is not protected, then there is no democracy. People should be able to disagree and criticize others opinions without punishment and restrictions, because the only way that things get done is when people talk them out, and argue and voice opinions to try to move things forward. I have always just not been a fan of restricting or "canceling" someone because of their beliefs, now obviously there are certain circumstances, but overall I feel that people should be able to share their beliefs and argue without people taking that away or restricting it. This also comes down as a key point to Democracy, as the founding fathers intended for the American citizen to be able to have input in how our country is to be run, so it is important that the American citizen can dissent and have a difference if opinions, because that is what ultimately makes progress. This is one main reason why I don't like the banning of President Trump from all major Social media outlets, because although they are private organizations and have the right to, it doesn't promote democracy and regresses the path of democracy for the country. If President Trump can't incite his political opinions or even if his followers can't show their support for him publicly and disagree with other people online, then there is no democracy. Thats why these social media outlets are so dangerous, because they are essentially preventing dissent, an dare shutting out anyone who disagrees with them. This one is very important to me, because I believe that everyone has the right to be able to defend their opinion and be able to disagree with others, because that is what ultimately brings progress. I dislike this notion of "cancel culture" today, I think that it is harmful to democracy to essentially ruin or discredit someone for an opinion or something they said that may be a little out there. The best part of our country and the amendments is that we are allowed to voice our opinion and disagree with people, in order to move the country forward.
https://thewire.in/law/right-to-dissent-constitution-justice-deepak-gupta
https://nation.com.pk/17-Sep-2019/importance-of-dissent
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