Payton Rappold

Free expression is a powerful thing for a person to utilize, and within it comes specific values. There are eight values of free expression, and each one describes in different ways why free expression is important to us as American Citizens.   The value that seems the most personally important for me is Individual Self- Fulfillment. "Individual self-fulfillment, often associated with the liberty theory, posits that people need and crave the ability to express themselves to become fully functioning individuals. Censorship stunts personal growth and individual expansion." https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/the-ongoing-challenge-to-define-free-speech/in-the-age-of-socia-media-first-amendment/ I chose this one because it focuses on free speech and how it allows us to create our personal identity and way of showcasing what is important to us. This resonates the most with me especially in this day in age, because being able to utilize y...

Introduction: Growing up I experienced our nation in war. After the attack on 9/11, the country declared war in defense of the United States. I wasn’t alive and able to experience warfare prior to that. Everything I can remember learning about with our war in the middle east was positive. I grew up in a culture where media and music were praising the war and the brave soldiers fighting for my country. I have never really been exposed to anti-war media and to be fully honest did not know that it still existed. You learn in history about Vietnam and how vocal people were against the war, I just assumed that did not still happen today. I was obviously mistaken after observing these two sites.   AntiWar .com:        At first glance, this website is a little hard to navigate and is packed with many news stories and viewpoints. What really grabs your attention when you first make your way to the site is the headlines. This was something that shocked me because the new...

 The First Amendment is fundamental for citizens of the United States. Within the amendment, there are six freedoms addressed, one of which being freedom of speech. This refers to one’s ability to individually or as a group express how they feel about issues, whether that is beliefs, opinions, ideas, emotions, etc. We have seen great examples of this in recent news involving the Black Lives Matter movement, witnessing gatherings, and protest in recent weeks. We are able to do this and voice our opinions because of the First Amendment and specifically, freedom of speech. However, this begs the question, when is it too much?   A recent New York Times article was published about the new challenges that we are facing in light of these protests and riots. The death of George Floyd shook the country and in weeks following brought about protests on some of the largest scales seen. However, that does not mean they stop there.   In Kenosha Wisconsin, a black man named Jacob ...

The history of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) dates back to its start in 1789. The Supreme Court is head of the Judicial Branch of government for the United States of America, making it the highest federal court for the country. Within the supreme court, there are nine seats for the Justices. Supreme Court Justices are nominated by the President of the United States’s but the U.S. Senate has a say in the approval of the President's nomination taking that seat. Out of all nine Justices, the Chief Justice has the highest-ranking and takes on more responsibilities and leadership roles for the Court.   The purpose of the court is to interpret the Constitution of our country, they do this by reviewing cases made by the lower branches of government and examine if laws are constitutional. They use the Constitution as the foundation of which they try to resolve national problems.   The Supreme Court receives on average over one hundred cases each week, but only accepts about one hundred c...

When looking for reliable news one of my first stops is the New York Times. It has a reputation for factual reporting and a lack of bias which I personally find really refreshing. With emerging social media and technology, the platform has also moved online which allowed for video and pictures within their story reports giving readers even more information. I would choose the New York Times over another news source due to their lack of bias. https://www.nytimes.com/ https://images.app.goo.gl/N2ZAC6K3RF6XSb7H9 The Huffington Post is another source I find to be reliable and relevant when searching for news. I also find that they stick out whenever I’m looking to confirm if a story is actually accurate or true. I like the Huffington Post because it is easily accessible to everyone and they are considered reliable. https://www.huffpost.com/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAhjCmAcpB8vo-SwMRgTH52bkNQgfS7RmMZMFW7m1WYWzEn8yT0mw...