Eight Values Of Free Expression

    

Throughout history, society  has seen that restriction is the start of a revolution. When civilians are restricted and their voices are not valued or sometimes silenced people tend to resort to violent ways of getting their message across which is why Stable Change is the speech theory that stuck with me. 

According to safety-valve-theory “it implies that citizens are free to make  statements concerning controversial societal issues to express their displeasure against the government and its policies. In assuming this right, citizens will be deterred from undertaking violent means to draw attention to their causes”. In other words, giving the people a chance to speak and lay out their concerns and thoughts while being heard decreases the chances of rebellion and people going against their government. 

    This in my opinion is more than a speech theory but a need that every human has to be heard. The stable change theory is nothing other than establishing a clear and healthy communication between the government and its people. But this becomes harder when the governments needs to do more than listen.When people speak up on social issues that are bothering them or sometimes threatening their lives they want to feel valued and that can only be shown through action caused by the government, without action than it becomes a one way conversation where people are speaking and the government is ignoring them.

        A survey from the American Psychological Association found that feeling-valued at work was linked to better physical and mental health, as well as higher levels of engagement, satisfaction and motivation. All the things that lead to a healthy and productive relationship between employer and employee. This can easily be applied to the government and its people: if civilians are heard, acknowledged and action is taken to help their situation there will be no reason to use violence to pass a message across. It can also help keep the government in check and make sure that they are doing what is right fo the country and its people. 

    When thinking about the American government today, one can say that it does not possess a healthy communication with its people, a lot of mistrust and it has to change. In order to do that the American government needs to establish a clear line of communication between citizens and the government, once that’s established there needs to be room for debate, in most cases nothing is black or white and people have to work together in order to enter the grey area. By doing that the government will show the people that they care and that they are valued. Overall this is not just a short term goal:  having healthy communications and debate will help make decisions faster and create room for change and growth.