In our class, we discussed the eight values of free expression, which are the Marketplace of Ideas, Participation in Self-Government, Stable Change, Individual Self-Fulfillment, Check on Governmental Power, Promote Tolerance, Promote Innovation, and Protect Dissent. Out of all of these values, promoting innovation, individual self-fulfillment, and the marketplace of ideas are some that resonate with me.
Trust me, I could go on and on about inventions involving the wheel and axle, but we would be here all day. Do something for me, and imagine a world without wheels. How would your life change?
You do not have a clock to wake you up because gears and axles do not exist. Yup, gears evolved from wheels. You need a gear and an axle to have a working clock. On top of that, you have no car, bike, or carriage to travel anywhere. Planes would have no landing gear and boats have no motors, so your only option would be horses and sailboats.
I believe if we dismiss ideas, then our society would not be in the place it is today. If we refuse to look at other perspectives and criticisms, our society will become stagnant and dull. Individual Self-Fulfillment plays a role in promoting innovation because it allows like-minded people to meet and talk with each other, providing a new perspective on the world with their experiences.
If we lost our free speech, citizens would be unable to criticize the ideas of other individuals or the government. An example of this can be seen in how Elon Musk is currently handling Twitter. In the past, Elon let people get a verified checkmark for $7.99, limited the number of messages free users could see per day, and is now removing the ability to block accounts.
The current state of Twitter shows me what could happen to our society if we lost our free speech and our ability to innovate, either the government gets restructured as a result of the chaos or society collapses, taking the government with it.
Either way, the government is in a lose-lose situation. Twitter is still around today, but it lost its top advertisers and has seen an increase in hate speech according to the CCDH. Twitter responded with a lawsuit, claiming the organization was running a "scare campaign".
I do believe we should not immediately disregard ideas, but I am also aware that some ideas can be silly. Even then, some ideas sound stupid on paper, but they are clever once you think about it. Here are a few examples of that. Some of my favorites include connecting two Ziploc bags by turning one inside out and using coins as tweezers.
On the other end, some ideas are so foolish it makes people wonder what the inventor was thinking. An example I recall is from a company called Juicero, a company that worked with farmers to make packets of juice from fresh produce. They also created a $700 juicer to squeeze this juice, which is what they centered their business around and helped the company get $120 million in funding.
There was one slight problem, however, you didn't even need the juicer at all! While yes, juicers are used to juice fruits and vegetables, the juice from Juicero was premade and prepackaged in bags. So all you needed to do to squeeze out the juice was to use some force, like your hands.
Thanks to free speech, we can express ideas we come up with and share them with like-minded individuals, who will support or give a critique of the idea. While it may be harsh to hear criticism, it will benefit the idea if it is done right.
The Marketplace of Ideas gives ideas the ability to reach a wide audience of people and allow them to experiment with the idea, which could influence their own! Alas, not all ideas are good ones, and the marketplace can also stop those in their tracks before they can be carried out.
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