Participation In Self Government

 

Out of the eight values of free expression, the one that resonates with me the most is participation in self-government. The reason why this sticks with me the most is because we have seen how crazy the United States election can be, and there have been so many false claims made that it has ruined the election process. In this article by ap, we see how Trump made false claims about the capital, and he uses these tactics and gets away with it sometimes. Some people take these campaigns very seriously and believe everything these candidates say, so for them to do that, they need to speak like they are under oath at all times. 

I think that this problem has been going on for way too long, and citizens do not know who to vote for anymore because of all the misinformation and even propaganda. In this article by washingtonpost, we see how Donald Trump has made 30,573 false or misleading claims in over four years. This is a problem that the American people see, and there is no punishment he will receive, and that is what is wrong with this value of expression. If we can't trust what our own president is saying, then how can we possibly make a judgment call on who the better fit is for the president of our country? We see how, in the last election, Biden could not even speak, and it was one of the most embarrassing things as a country that we had to view knowing that he was the leader of the country. This is when this right has to come into play, and the people of this country need to do something about it.

I watched a youtube video of Joe Biden not being able to talk, and it was honestly shocking to me. Joe Biden cannot string together sentences, and he is supposed to be giving us advice to vote for him? This is the problem with politics, and it has gone to a place that cannot be recovered. These candidates say whatever they think people will like, and it could be such a false claim, but they never seem to get penalized for it. This is the problem with participation in self-government because we are getting these false claims thrown at us and do not know what to believe is real or not. Meanwhile, these candidates are getting no punishment other than getting ridiculed by the news channels, and that's it. These news channels are also in the wrong in this case because they push out false claims on whatever side they lean. It is a disgrace to the American people and an embarrassment to other countries when they look at our politics. 

The United States of America needs to come up with a system where these false claims need to be made 100 percent illegal in the process of running for a position in the government. It is now impossible to trust a candidate unless you do your own research, and even that, at times, can be swayed one way and give you misguided information. We, the common people, must stand up for what we believe in and put an end to these false claims that are happening all over politics.