The Eight Values of Free Expression
Of the eight values of free expression, promotion of tolerance is by far the most important. In today's severely divided society, the promotion of tolerance is important so that we, as a population, can come to understand and be okay with opinions that differ from our own. While diversity in opinions and ideas is a component of any society, being able to listen to those opinions and understand them is something I feel that the United States is lacking. Growing up in New York, I was surrounded by an atmosphere of intolerance. Anyone who does not believe what you believe is considered to be "stupid" or "uneducated" or "un-woke". What's "un-woke" is when people bark and scream at others because someone has a differing opinion or even different morals. I've literally watched a woman get barked at by another woman because she stated that if she were to have an unwanted pregnancy, she would choose to not have an abortion. She never once stated that she believed that abortion should be illegal, or that women should be put in prison for the murder of an unborn child, but the barking woman assumed that she was pro-life and chose to interact with her in that way because being pro-life was against her own values.
Assumption is what really drags down America as a whole. In my opinion the division between the American population is due to the majority of the population that assumes someone else's morals and values because of the way someone looks or acts, or just because they stated only one of their opinions on a heavily discussed matter. How can someone assume someone's entire personality and/or views on certain topics based on one opinion? It truly boggles my mind because of how idiotic and truly intolerant it sounds to say that you can "guess" someone's entire view on life based on just one statement. I think the majority o the issue at hand is that not everyone grew up in the same situation. People assume that "rich" kids had it made growing up, but what about the kids who grew up without a father figure because he was always at work? People assume that the "party-ers" at school are the most fun and think school comes second, but what about the kids who "party" to drown the sorrows of the home-life? If people truly got to know people without judging them on every wrong step they take, then, just then, we might actually be able to finally come together again without tragedy being in the mix. Though I was not alive on 9/11, everyone I know that was alive at that time says the same thing, "That was the last time that America came together in unity and solidarity". Why does it take a tremendous tragedy to bring a country together. We should just be together, no "ifs", "ands", or "buts".
To conclude this blog post, I'd like to reiterate the importance of tolerance and the promotion of it. We are NOT cookie cutter human beings. The entire basis of human existence is the idea that we all have our own journeys and experiences, so why should we rip that away from someone by demeaning their morals and values that were formulated based off of the individual journey they took? Until our society corrects this soon-to-be fatal flaw, the promotion of tolerance will continue to be the most essential of the eight values of free expression in my opinion.