Blog Post #6

    In my opinion, I think the reason we must do research ourselves on things about antiwar, is because the mainstream media likes to keep the important things hidden. There is a lot of stuff that the news, and big media outlets like to conceal so that we can stay in the dark. If you go on ‘antiwar.com’, there is so much information on things no one has ever heard about. Before I went on this website, I never knew that Egypt and the U.S. were allies. I also had no idea that Egypt uses child soldiers to fight their battles.
Some of the tasks that they are assigned consist of spying, delivering food to military checkpoints, disassembling bombs, logistics, and combat fighting. The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights stated that between the years of 2013 and 2022, kids as young as twelve years old were recruited as soldiers. What would you do if one of your younger family members was forced to be recruited into an ‘army’ at any age under 18? The article says, ‘Under international law, governments are prohibited from recruiting children under the age of 15… recruitment by either a government or armed groups is listed as a war crime’ (MEE staff 2023). To me, this shows me that any country associated with Egypt as allies, either turns a blind eye, or has no idea what is going on.

     Now why would mainstream media not want us to know this? Most likely because we would not want to be associated with a country that makes preteens fight their battles for them. Until I read this article, I had no idea that Egypt was even in any type of combat. The only things I hear about today are the Biden Administrations new policies, Trumps indictment, or natural disasters. Stuff like this needs to be talked about more, because we can’t expect everyone to just go on the internet and look for it themselves.

Blog Post #5 : Television

    The first ever idea of Television was in the early 20th century. People wanted to use it as a tool for education. It was an easier way to get a message out and inform a larger group of people. The first ever electrical TV was shown to the public in 1932. During the mid 20th century there were more technical requirements needed for contemporary television. This was the start of many establishments that would be made into televisions and make them what they are today. One of those establishments being the color of the television. The only color formats available for TVs at the time were monochrome ones, black and white. In 1908 the film A Visit to the Seaside used natural color and was the first ever film in color. It was not until 1950 that color was shown on televisions all around and became the normal. News and major political events became an important part of television in the 1960s because they could now broadcast events like debates and conventions. 

    Currently the majority of people have at least one television in their home. With many people having access to television it makes it very easy to be a news source. Because of how convenient it is for many this is the main resource of news and information. About 62% of Americans watch their local news on a daily basis. They think that it is a good way to get informed on what is going locally in their community along with critical news information as well. Even in recent years there have been changes made to the way broadcasting news actually goes. With the current use of technology the attention spans of those going down, a news segment is not as long as it used to be. They used to be about 10-15 minutes long but now there are a wide variety of different programs and many different channels. Television has come a long way from the 20th century to the way it is now.

Motion Picture

  

 During the mid-19th century photographers began to document the battlefields during the War. They used different techniques and came up with an invention to view pictures in a rapid movement that creates motion. Leland Stanford noticed the difference in a horse's stride in every movement and asked Eadweard Muybridge to photograph this. Muybridge showcased his photographs to a group in San Francisco the following year. These photographs were the first ever film. In Paris, Etienne-Jules Marey experimented with 12 pictures per second of a moving object. Both Muybridge and May's work were the founding concepts for the motion picture. In 1890 the first ever camera that captured motion picture was created. It was announced in 1892 that a new invention would be created that can project motion pictures onto a screen. By 1894 people could now publicly watch films at what was called a Kinetograph Parlor, currently known as movie theaters.

    In 1933 The Crooked Circle was the first film to be broadcast on television, on March 10 in Los Angeles. This was the start of a new movement because it was the first film to actually be shown on television. Many people were now able to tell stories for an audience to connect to. Watching films allows people to travel the world and feel the emotions that are being showcased throughout. Many audiences like to connect to stories and there are so many different films and shows in the current day that a viewer can easily relate to. A lot of people viewed themself differently after seeing different films. They could become easily influenced and make changes in their life for the better. It also opened peoples eyes to the world around them they have not seen. In the classroom the motion picture was a big thing. Now the history of the past and current issues in the present could be showcased to students and help them really learn how it all went down. It is also very important now because it is considered to be one of the most popular forms of art and it is one the biggest sources for news. There are specific channels made to spread news and without them many people would not be as up to date with everything. 

    There are not always just positive effects with this but there are also negative effects with some motion pictures and the process behind them. One of the issues with this is

inappropriate things being shown to children like sex, drugs, violence, and bad language. With the world of technology it is harder for parents to monitor what it is being shown to their children. Connecting this back to modern day motion pictures are currently on hold because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, a strike where both actors and writers are on strike in order to get paid more for the work they are doing. It is an issue that all these people do so much to make a motion picture what it is but they do not get the credit they deserve.

8 Values of Free Expression

   

When looking at the 8 Values of Free Expression the one that stuck out to me the most was the 7th one, Promote Innovation. I feel like this is very important because everyone's opinion should be appreciated and with this it is making free speech valued. With this it also creates a better environment for citizens to be themselves. The whole reason for the 1st Amendment is to give freedom of speech. This value falls into line with that because it shines a positive light on speech. 

    Currently a major thing that goes on are protests. I think these can tie into each expression in their own way. But the one I would say strongly plays into them is the 8th one, Protect Dissent. This value came from Steve Shiffrin in the book Dissent, Injustice, and the Meanings of America. Steve said "a dissent-based approach reveals weaknesses in the approaches to free speech taken by postmodernism, Republicanism, deliberative democratic theory, outsider jurisprudence, and liberal theory." With cases coming from both the republican side and democratic side I feel this can be applied to both. On the democratic side there were protests such as the Black Lives Matter protest in 2020. This event correlates with 8th value because it talks about how you have the right to disagree with the government. The root of these protests came from racial police brutality. Since they say that it is your patriotic duty to criticize the government, protesting against it would be doing just that. This was such a time for many people to speak out on how they feel and utilize their right to freedom of speech. On the republican side was the Capitol Riot on January 6th 2021. Everything started because Donald Trump made a speech and mentioned peacefully and patriotically making their voices heard. People clearly did not listen well and created chaos instead. Once again this ties in the 8th value because there is criticism happening to the government. President Trump, at the time, was stating that there was some form of voting fraud that had happened. So because of this people that supported him agreed and wanted to make it known. Their way of making it known was storming the Capitol and vocally criticizing the government. According to the 8th value this is supported in voicing a disagreeing thought against the government. Overall, there are and will be events that occur on both republican and democratic sides that can be looked at with the 8th value, Protect Dissent, in mind.

    When it comes to social media, it is a big thing in current news and life in general. The use of social media can be looked at as the 1st value, Discovery of Truth. When many statements are being put out on different topics in the end the truth will find its way out. There can be many false narratives put out there on the internet and many people come to believe it before doing further research. There is no specific case I can think of where this is evident but I feel it is the most common on Twitter. They have recently added a feature where they can notify users if a tweet includes information that is not accurate or confirmed to be true. Before this many people used it as a way to spread misinformation. At the end of the day though, the truth comes out whether that is a week later or years later.

Supreme Court

    

Prior to looking more into the Supreme Court I did not know much at all. I remember learning about specific cases in a class in high school but never more into the actual court itself. Obviously there are very notable cases I have heard about but when it comes to the logistics of it all I did not know anything. One thing I did not know is how open and public the Supreme Court really is. I always assumed it was a very big secretive thing but since it is just people voicing their opinions on these issues it cannot be super secretive. Another thing I did not know was that the cases they look over are sent in my petition. When hearing of cases in the Supreme Court I never really thought about how they actually ended up there. 

    The most important take-away about the Supreme Court for me was just how important they are for our country. Because of the Supreme Court there is a stronger boundary of government power. This also helps avoid controversy in many ways. With the history of everything they have done for the country, things would not be the way they are now. The laws and rulings they set become the foreground of history. Because of all this it makes them a very important part of our government. 

    The most surprising thing I learned was how time consuming the whole process can be. When an opinion draft is sent to all the justices they might not all immediately agree on their stance. In order for them to try and persuade the other justices they will go back and rewrite their appeal. They can go back and re-draft a dozen or more times which can be very time consuming. Since this is at the start of the process it creates a slow process all around. Nothing can move forward until people are agreeing on their opinion. While they do not have to all ultimately agree upon their stance but a compromise does have to be made. There is a time limit on things as they try to release opinions by the end of the term, late June. 

    The videos changed how I thought of the Supreme Court in how influential I view them. Prior I did not really think much of what they do at all. Now knowing the lengths and time put into each and every case they decide to review is very influential to how the nation can change. Without any of their decisions being made some very historical changes would not have happened. For example, Brown v. Board of Education, without this case racial segregation may have gone on for a lot longer. In conclusion, without the Supreme Court our country would not be the same. 

Top 5 News Sources

There are many different places to get news from me. It is very important to get your information from multiple sources and make sure what you are reading is correct before spreading false information around. Here are my top 5 sources to get my news from.

The first news source I use is Twitter, also known as X. I like using Twitter because it allows me to look at everyones opinion on issues going on. When reading some articles about news you seem to only get the journalists perspective of it whereas on Twitter you can see why some people may agree with the situation or some disagree. Most people posting on twitter do not get paid to post about it so instead of it being a job they are posting about it because they care about the issue. It is very convenient to have this source on my phone because I can check it whenever I want. When some major event occurs it will be displayed on the search page under News and sometimes they will insert news videos playing about the topic. By doing this it gives users live updates on what is going on and helps keep them informed at all times. Sometimes it can be looked at as not the most reliable of news sources. I think depending on the information and sources being used it can be a quick and easy way to get news.

The second news source I use is TikTok. I like using TikTok because the news I find out from there is catered towards me and my interests. This is because of the algorithm based off of videos I have previously liked before. So if I like a lot of videos talking about reality shows like The Bachelor, there is a high chance that when information about the show or contestants come out I will see a video about it. Usually when using the app I am getting a form of entertainment with the occasional news content. This is an app I use everyday so I get to stay pretty up to date with the pop culture news I am interested in. Just like Twitter, it may not always be the most reliable news source but this is where I seem to find more pop culture news rather than series news headlines.

The third news source I use is Instagram. I like Instagram because it is the most visual when it comes to showing news. Usually there is some sort of graphic on the post followed by text in the caption going into more detail. A lot of times people I follow will repost the news on their story and that is how I will see it. Another way of seeing things is through my explore page. This usually shows more news catered towards the accounts I follow or posts that I like. This is not where I find most news from but on the occasion that I do I feel the aspect of it being pictures I see first make it more memorable. I am more likely to remember a picture I saw on my phone the other week rather than something I was told once. Another reason I like Instagram is because of how convenient it is as an app on my phone. Checking social media is part of my everyday routine so seeing news on there as often as I can helps me stay up to date.

The fourth news source I use is my family. Oftentimes my family will actually watch the news or check regular news apps daily. Every time I talk to them I feel like they tell me some sort of new information they heard of. My dad likes to check his New York Times app everyday and if he sees something about one of my interests he will either mention it to me or send me the article to tell me about it. Sometimes I have seen it already from social media but a lot of times it is new information being told to me. Getting news from them is helpful because I can ask questions to them about the topic if I need to, whereas when watching the news it is all up to me to know what is being told. Without them telling me about news stories that have to do with sports or politics I would be very out of the loop and confused about it. 

The fifth news source is the Google app. When using the google app on my iPad there are articles below the search bar about what is trending. Usually when I look at these articles it is catered to me and my past google searches. This way of getting information is easy because it catches my eye every time I go to google something and I end up looking through the headlines to see if there is anything I want to read more about. This is a different way of getting news than my other sources because this gives actual news articles whereas all my other forms were either word of mouth or social media. Most of the time these articles catch my eye because they go into further detail about things I read on social media prior. It helps give me more of an understanding about the things I find interesting.