Blog Post #4

 United States Postal Service

Today, the United States Postal Service is an agency a part of the executive branch of the United States government whose duty is to supply mail services to households and buildings in the US. The United States Postal Service was first established by the Second Continental Congress in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin appointed as the first postmaster general. Benjamin Franklin had previously been the postmaster for Philadelphia where he showed his potential by improving delivery routes and cutting down on mail delivery time.

The initial primary purpose for why a general postal service was created for the 13 colonies was so that mail could get to the people in a quicker and more dependable way. With the United States Postal Service established, war correspondence was improved greatly for America. This continued into a ripple effect helping early America create a steady communication system. Having a service that was dependable and had a flat rate that all people could access became a core value for early America.

Not only did it help individual people and with war correspondence, but it also ensured that all the colonies were able to access the service and communicate with each other in a timely manner. This helped strengthen the colonies by staying up-to-date on what was happening and staying on the same page amongst one another. By having a safe and secure postal service system, the American people and the government were able to communicate between each other emphasizing a core American value.

The United States Postal Service changed our world and how we communicate drastically. One way this is shown is how it expanded postal roads giving all places access. This is still shown today and extremely important. The impacts of the postal service continue to shine through mail delivered to people in a quicker way. Additionally, the materials being distributed ranged from letters to reading materials such as newspapers, magazines, and government documents. With a larger population having access to reading materials, the American people became much more literate. Not only are the impacts prevalent in the education system, but also in the entertainment industry. With newspapers and magazines being widely distributed, print was able to be recognized as a form of entertainment. The last impact I will touch on is that the United States Postal Service had an influence on technological advancements. With an increasing demand for quicker speed, the idea of email was sparked in order to send and receive mail in a quicker way to people all around the world.

Initially, there were not any critical negative impacts associated with establishing the United States Postal Service. Instead, we are seeing problems arising more recently today with controversy surrounding whether or not it should be moved to the private sector. Economic downfalls have also impacted the postal service since they can not adjust their rates for how much they pay people or charge for mailing services. This amount must apply nationwide. An example of this is how mailing a letter across the street in North Carolina has the same cost for a stamp as it would mailing a letter to a remote area in Alaska. While we continue to wait and see what changes the postal service will make, if any, we must keep in mind that the core value of the United States Postal Service was, and continues to be, to connect the nation and we must not allow for this to be jeopardized in the future.

Blog Post #3

 Eight Values of Free Expression

While reflecting on the Eight Values of Free Expression discussed in class, there were two that stuck with me throughout the remainder of the day. Each value of free expression resonated with me in different ways, but it was the stable change, or safety valve, that resonated with me the most. The value that impacted me the second-most was individual self-fulfillment. 

When the concept of stable change was initially being explained to me, I could not comprehend why anyone thought it would work. I thought instead having disruptions in the form of rants from people would only cause further disruption. It was not until I began discussing the eight values with my fellow classmate that clarity came to me.

During our discussion we talked about how it did make sense that having this value was in the government's self-interest due to being able to have knowledge, preventative action preparation, and more contentment in society. Due to stable change, the government has the knowledge of what the public's perception is of what is going on. For example, if there was no avenue for feedback and therefore a president thought they were doing great, they would change nothing and would not realize their mistakes until they were voted out of office. The government is also able to have preventative actions in place for events that could happen since they are able to hear about what is going on. On the contrary, if people were forced to whisper about their disagreements, it would be much more difficult for the government to know when possible events are taking place and could then, in turn, be taken off-guard. Lastly, there is more contentment in society as a whole because we as people are not forced to bottle up our emotions. Rather than waiting for our frustrations to get the better of us, we are able to rant about what we disagree on, and then move on since it can be out of your system.

The Free Speech Center explained this theory in an article as “a philosophical justification of the utility of protest” (Omachonu, 2009). This article later goes on to explain how freely discussing issues is what saves a stable government. This directly relates to what is going on today with peaceful protests and marches. There was a recent Women’s March in Washington D.C. that relates to stable change and protecting a stable government. Instead of these people jumping straight to violence if their rants were being suppressed, they instead are able to peacefully march, feel their voices being heard, and continue on with their day in hopes that change will come.

This value connects to the other value of individual self-fulfillment because if you are not able to think and believe what you want, you will not be able to loudly stand for your beliefs. In an article by Hudson (2022), he explains the deep rooted connection that freedom of speech is with freedom of thought. This is a factor of free speech that I had never considered and now I believe that there is no freedom of speech without freedom of thought. 

As I began thinking about how these values relate to what is happening today in the technology realm, social media censorship is the first thing that came to my mind. The American Bar Association shared in this article by Hudson how much of an influence private companies have the ability to infringe on freedom of speech in this day and age. For example, Twitter, or X, censoring peoples speech walks a tricky line. On one hand, it is a private company whose terms and conditions consumers agree to before using. This is also not a source that people are forced to use. On the other hand, in agreement with Hudson’s article, some of these private companies have become so ingrained in society that censoring speech is impacting a person's rights. My question is then: where do we draw the line?

Blog Post #2

 The Founding Era

After watching the videos and reading the overview about the Supreme Court created by the History Channel, I now feel as though I have a much better grasp on its importance and what the Supreme Court really is.

One thing that I did not know prior to learning from these sources was that the Supreme Court justice
nominees must get approved by the Senate. I had known that justices were appointed by the current president but did not realize how big of a role the Senate also played. 

In my opinion, the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court is that while the power of the Supreme Court is protected in the Constitution, the real power comes from society's faith in them. I found this point so important given that the Supreme Court holds the highest power and yet even they rely on the faith we as a society have in them. An interesting showing of this is described in an article by Brennan Center about why it is important that there is diversity within the Supreme Court justices. By having the knowledge that it is society who must have faith in the Supreme Court, it only makes sense that all people feel spoken for when it comes to some of the biggest decisions being made in our country. 

The most surprising aspect that I took from the video was how important the confirmation process is. While I knew that once a Supreme Court justice was appointed that they were there for life, it did not resonate with me until now how crucial the confirmation process is. Since there are no elections for Supreme Court justices after they have been in office, it is even more important that the president at the time and the Senate choose wisely. 

Prior to watching the Part 1 and Part 2 , I was under the impression that the justices were loyal to the political party of the president who appointed them. After watching, it is clear to me that their loyalty does not lie with a political party nor the public, but instead with upholding the Constitution. Along with the other points touched on this blog, this is one of the main take-aways I think everyone should know and have faith in with our Supreme Court. 

Blog Post #1

 My Top 5 Sources of News and Information

I enjoy looking at The New York Times as one of my main news sources because of its broad array of subjects. The New York Times allows me to go to one source where I know I will be able to find articles about any subject I am interested in through a generally unbiased lens. Another reason why I enjoy going to The New York Times and would recommend it to others is because of the daily challenges they offer. From games including Wordle, Connections, Crosswords and more.These games along with the news pieces are updated daily keeping me as a consumer of their media coming back for more. 

  

As someone who grew up playing sports, ESPN has been a constant source of news for me since I could access it on my own. ESPN is a great news source for all topics that are sports-related. They are an organization that prides themselves on their reliability and research and they are respected for it. ESPN is especially useful since I am able to access games across all sports, rankings, schedules, statistics, and so much more. Most importantly for myself personally, as a viewer I am able to read articles post-games about how the players felt during the game and it keeps me up to date with how my favorite teams are progressing. 

This source is not one that I access consistently, but is one that is the most prominent when I am at home with my family. Growing up, my parents would watch NBC Nightly News and have continued to do so. I enjoy joining my parents when they watch NBC Nightly News as we are able to engage in conversations, I am able to ask questions, and we are able to learn different viewpoints from one another. I recommend this source to others since they look to cover both sides, there are interesting stories, and when watching with others you can learn more than you could have if you were watching alone. While I am away from my parents at school, I do not keep up with NBC Nightly News as much as I would like but make an effort to stay updated NBC News through their website.

While this next source is not one I use for more pressing stories, E! News is a main news source that I consume information from in regards to the entertainment industry. I follow their account on Instagram and am able to get quick, easily digestible information with links available if I am interested in learning more about the headline given. As someone who enjoys watching television, I enjoy looking at E! News so that I am able to stay updated with my favorite celebrities. I would recommend this source to others if they also enjoy staying updated with the entertainment industry as it is easily accessible and gives quick, interesting articles.

Recently, I have been striving to become more educated in what is happening in the world around me. As someone with a very busy schedule, The Washington Post podcast, “The 7”, has been incredibly beneficial to me. This is a news podcast that is released every weekday morning and consists of what they consider “the seven most important and interesting stories” and describes them quickly. Each episode lasts around 8 minutes long and is easily accessible for me through Spotify and for others through Apple Music. Not only is this a great source due to its convenience, but The Washington Post is known for their reliability allowing me to be at ease knowing that I am taking in reputable information.

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