Privacy Online and Offline (5)

 

In review of the handful of TEDTalks watched in class, I am extremely taken aback at the lack of protections we citizens have. Both our offline and online data is being tracked publicly, and we allow it. While technology can be useful to aid in investigations, it should not be used to monitor our day to day lives. 

In Catherine Crump's TEDTalk, she sheds light on license plate and cell phone tracking systems used by many police departments across the United States. Crump shares that due to the cost of keeping this data depleting, police departments and saving information about average, innocent citizens "just in case". Not only does this information tell police where you are going during your day-to-day life, this technology snaps pictures of your vehicle that details where you are and who you are with. 

Darieth Chisolm shares a personal and life-changing story with us about the lack of cybersecurity and privacy. Chisolm spent months humiliating herself and fighting for justice due to an ex-partner sharing intimate and sexual images of her online. Through her many court appearances, she discovered no federal laws have been put in place to protect citizens from cyber-crimes of this type. This lack of protection can criminalize victims of, what Chisolm calls, digital domestic violence. These victims may never get justice while facing the consequences of a criminal. 

In a growing digital world, it is important our privacy is protected. We must use our technology with caution to ensure the data we allow out in the world cannot risk our safety. Additionally, the Government cannot aid in applications that harm our fourth and fifth amendment rights. As citizens, we have a right to have certain details of our lives private from Government eyes. It is crucial we don't allow private, intimate information to be given to private sectors or our Government. 

The History and Impact of Paper (4)

Paper is one of the most important components of communication in our day to day lives. Despite living in a digital world, many still come in contact with paper communication every day. From printing resume's to paper flyers, paper is a crucial source of communicating. 

Before we had paper, humans communicated through symbols and drawings. These would be carved and painted anywhere from cave walls to tree bark. The most similar medium to paper used were clay tablets. Thinking of the creation of clay and paper, both use water mixed with another medium. This could explain how the idea of mixing water with another material and drying to make paper began.

Roughly two-thousand years ago, Chinese inventors began crafting cloth sheets to record writings. This invention began to create paper as we know it today. Paper was first made by Cai Lun (pictured to the right) in Lei-Yang. It is presumed that Lun crafted paper from tree bark, hemp, rags, and water. All materials were mashed to pulp and dried. 

During the 8th century, the invention of paper traveled to the Middle East. It took another five-hundred years for paper to reach Europe. The first European paper mill was build in Spain, influencing a take-off for paper production and mills across Europe. Moving into the 15th century, Europe began distributing paper to its colonies. 

In 1690, the first U.S. paper mill was build in Pennsylvania. Originally, we used the "Chinese method", consisting of rags as a main resource. As demand grew, we switched to tree fibers due to its cost effectiveness. We still continue to use this method today, while additionally using recycled paper. 

The introduction of paper furthered our early communication. From newspapers to written letters, paper influenced a newfound widespread communication. Additionally, communication could continue long-distance, allowing for more people to share ideas and communicate with one another. Without paper, many other communication sources would not be possible, such as newspaper. In our digital age, we have transitioned to "digital paper" applications such as google docs, email, or note-taking apps (ex. Goodnotes). Many of these applications hold the same design as physical paper, but are digitally encoded and saved for convince.

While this early communication development is important, then and now, it unfortunately impacts us negatively. The paper industry is one of the largest in the world, and contributes to pollution in our air and water sources. Negative impact can even be traced directly to the root of paper production. Between illegal tree harvesting and a lack of re-planting, the paper industry is also ruining our forests and contributing to habitat destruction. 

The production of paper requires a lot of water, resulting in water pollution in surrounding bodies of water. This damages aquatic ecosystems and threatens the health of nearby communities. Additionally, pollutants released into the air affect air quality in nearby communities and contributes to climate change. Climate change being such a pressing issue in our modern day society calls for a demand of attention to paper production. 

Eight Values of Free Expression (3)

In reflection of the eight values of free expression, I resonate most with the "Protect Dissent" theory. This value notes the importance of Government criticism and minority views. I find these values extremely important to our democracy and community building. It is crucial we are allowed to share our opinions, even when they are not popular, in order to educate and advocate. Additionally, the right to criticize our Government is a check on the federal government in protecting our first amendment right.We should be allowed to share our opinions on the actions of our government and hold them accountable for unjust regulations. 

While I believe unpopular speech protections are important, I believe the most important theory is "Participation in Self-Government". Informed voting is a value I hold to the highest importance. It is crucial voters are not voting on party lines. It is our civic duty to be an informed voter and participate in federal, state, and local elections. This ensures majority rule is a true majority, and not based on party rule. I have personally interacted with many students my age who do not vote, or vote along their parents party, due to lack of informing themselves on our political environment. I believe we should encourage all citizens to be informed and active voters in our community. 

In modern day society I notice the "Promote Tolerance" theory the most, especially on social media. This idea extends protections to speech that may be seen as "offensive" or "hateful" in order to build tolerance in our communities. While hate speech is protected by the first amendment, I personally believe some of this speech does not promote tolerance. Some speech can simply be offensive for the purpose of disrespecting other citizens; for example, racial slurs, religious discrimination, misogyny, etc. While yes, these can be protected by our first amendment, this speech is targeted to simply discriminate against minority communities. 

Social Media has given many individuals a platform to share their opinions. This allows citizens a widespread format to connect with other like-minded individuals, create forums and accounts to share ideas, and interact with those of differing opinions. While this influence can be good, it can also promote targeted hate speech, like I mentioned previously. Social media allows for hateful comments, usually targeted broadly towards minority communities, to be shared widely. This allows hate speech to reach many individuals in one minority community. With many platforms allowing responses on their site, communities may respond back with equally offensive and targeted speech that can be harmful to those in a community, but not directly tied to the post. Overall, social media has become a great way to connect with others, but also a way to discriminate widely and influence others to participate. 

Not only does social media promote hate speech, it also promotes the "wildfire" spread of misinformation. The speech theory of "Check on Governmental Power" states that "freedom of the press enables citizens to learn about abuses of power...". This would allow for voters to take action during election years by voting against candidates promoting abuse of power. Further, this would be a check on the government, restraining abuse of power. While this idea is important, the introduction of social media allows for biased and falsified information to influence voters. 

The Founding Era: Supreme Court Of The United States (2)

The Supreme Court Of The United States (SCOTUS) uses the power of Judicial Review to interpret the Constitution and create precedents for all court systems in the United States. Serving Justices have no term limits and often serve decades after their Presidential appointment. SCOTUS is the highest ruling court of our judicial system, leaving them with the power of certiorari. 

In reflection of The Supreme Court's history, I was surprised to learn about how public this court is. All rulings are sent out to the press immediately after a decision, and many cases are presented and argued publicly. In comparison to the Supreme Court, I learned that many legislative decisions are made privately, with little record of discussion or compromise. This information was brought to attention as a justice responded to a claim that SCOTUS was private and "secretive", pointing out that their court was more public than our legislative system passing our federal laws and regulations. 

My biggest take-away from this reflection is how independent the court is. While each justice has their own opinion, they take their job of interpreting the Constitution seriously and leave "party politics" out of their debates. Another big take-away was Justice Ruth Bater-Ginsburg's point on the Constitution and amendments. Justice Ginsburg mentions how our founding fathers left out the rights for women, people of color, etc. and how our amendments, and SCOTUS rulings must take these parties into account to keep freedom for the people. 

These videos have helped further my understanding of the inner-workings of the Supreme Court, and have encouraged me to keep myself updated and educated with SCOTUS cases and rulings. Additionally, I am more educated on the history of SCOTUS and its previous justices. This knowledge broadens my understanding of our Government and how each branch works with the other.

MY Top Five Sources of News and Information (1)

1. AP News

Associated Press (AP) News tends to be my first source for information when I search for political, U.S., or World news. I use this source due to its independence from either political party. This source is unaffiliated and focuses on sharing news stories rather than adding turmoil to already sensitive events. This source is my go-to recommendation for news of any kind, but mainly political and U.S.