The Privelege to Criticize

     Today, it only takes a minute to scroll through Twitter or Facebook or any social media platform of your choice and find someone using their account to voice their opinions on the government. These opinions can get pretty brutal and reach the highest from of criticism imaginable. This is something that is normal, something that is legal. The crazy thing is that it was not always this way, not even close. 

     There was a time when protesting the government was not only not allowed, but would get you placed in jail. The very concept of freedom of the press we see fervently exercised each and every day was not always honored and upheld properly. It is easy to look back on history and think that once the constitution was ratified everything was fine. But that is not the case, each right was still a fight and the constitution was just a big stepping stone or turning point. Even ten years after the constitution was ratified, arguably one of the most vital amendments- the first amendment, was not stable. 

     In 1798 the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed. The sedition act essentially made it illegal to publicly oppose the government. I cannot read those lines over again enough. I scrolled through Twitter before writing this article and it is honestly amazing at what people are able to express when it comes to their disdains with the government. Even though some of the posts are so vulgar, they are in a sense beautiful because of what they represent. They represent absolutely freedom, complete protection of freedom of the press. 

Define: Balance

     I have taken several different history and government classes throughout my educational career. Without fail, every class has always talked about, and more accurately stressed, the importance of checks and balances. However, it is only recently that I have begun to think of the meaning of checks and balances. Through class discussions and going over landmark court cases I have formed my own opinion regarding checks and balances. I believe that the most accurate definition and embodiment of the checks and balances system comes from Judicial Review. Judicial review is the power granted to the Judicial branch of government that allows the Supreme Court to decide if a court decision or if a law made by one of the other branches- legislative or executive branch, or any other state government courts and agencies is constitutional or not. If you really look closely at the definition of judicial review, it makes sense why I believe this to embody balance in our government.      Isn't our government, at its core, built upon the words of the constitution? Isn't the constitution designed to be the backbone of America, the very governing document? If judicial review is the privilege to decipher if laws and proceedings are in line with the governing document, then that makes this privilege the ultimate sense of balance and harmony. This power ultimately give the Supreme Court the power to declare laws null and void, which ensures the protection and validity of our standing constitution. 

In The Public Eye

     As most everyone has come to realize, image is everything. I’m not necessarily referring to hair color or the color of your button down, rather your persona. The personal image a person presents to the world is vital to their reputation. It creates the expectations people hold for you and the favorable feelings they may or may not hold towards you. Image is especially crucial for political figures, as their success relies on having the support of people. In order to gain someone’s support, a degree of respect, admiration, or trust is needed. The media is often ready to jump on stories that reveal information that their readers were not expecting about relevant individuals. 
     I read an article on 5W Public Relations that discussed ways how the way politician Bernie Sanders may have tarnished his reputation with one person declaring they will definitely not be voting for Sanders any longer. Bernie Sanders ate a restaurant and after his dining experience the restaurant's owner was quoted as describing Sanders as “rude and cranky.” The owner added another statement that I found to perfectly embody the power of PR with “anyone in the public eye needs to understand when it's time to order room service." What he means by this is that he understands those in the public eye cannot be perfect all the time, but when they are choosing to present themselves to the public they should make certain they are presenting an image and persona that is consistent with the reputation they wish to uphold. 
     As a student who is majoring in the field of communications, a story like this is rather relevant to me because it shows the reality behind many of the lectures I have sat through. It encompasses an integral aspect to the world of communications and how we interact with others by showing the power of our behavioral presence and image.

Emoticon or Emotionless

     I do not go a single day without sending an emoticon or receiving one. Not a single day. I had never really stopped to give these emoticons any deeper thought until a fellow student presented on the invention of emoticons today in class. 
     It was my birthday on Saturday and I began thinking about how many people wished me a Happy Birthday. I realized that I only got two phone calls- from my parents and from my sister. Not even my own brother called me on the phone. Instead, I got a text with emoticons. Is there really any true meaning in that? In sending someone a red heart emoticon rather than called them and telling them you love them in your own voice with your own words? My aunts, uncles, and cousins all texted me too and every one of those texts had emoticons. It is as though these colorful and cute icons suffice as showing our feelings to those we care about, even on the most important days of their lives. 
     Has this invention helped us to communicate our emotions more or has it really just made us emotionless? I can't even count the amount of times I sent back a laughing emoticon to a text while having a completely blank face, often times not even a smirk across my face. What does that say about me? About us? Are we all just liars? It is hard to feel like we are living in the age of ultimate communication when I received over thirty Happy Birthday wishes, but only two of those came with an actual voice. New emoticons come out all the time, and those are just new ways for us to "express" ourselves over text with less actual words and thought process of our own, but ultimately with less feeling.

A Little Light Goes a Long Way

     This week we did presentations on various inventions that affected society in one way or another. I chose to do my research on the invention of the lightbulb. I was surprised by many of the facts I came across and in awe at some of my final realizations. It surprised me to learn that there had been other working forms of electric light before Thomas Edison's famous lightbulb. I had just always been told in school and growing up that "Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb" and that was that. No one had ever bothered to unveil the many underlying stories behind and beneath that statement. 
     Thomas Edison spent years perfecting his incandescent light bulb and would not stop until it worked how he had imagined. It is easy to think of inventors and their grand inventions and feel as though their accomplishments are on scales so unattainable. They are often geniuses, but what really defines a genius? Thomas Edison could not just invent the lightbulb in one day and know all of the answers, he had to work at it. He had to believe in his own idea so fervently that no outside comment or opinion could stifle his faith and persistence. This is the part that is most admirable, it has less to do with his mind and much more to do with character. That is the true genius, because it is rare. 
       People with an unstoppable drive and dreams that soar upward and on infinitely are not born every day and probably cannot be taught to be that way. It is a sort of special light that some people possess by allowing it to exist. It is the people who never turned off their light when others confronted them with realities, it is the people who believe in every possibility- those are the people who create new realities.