The importance of Checking Government Power

     It can be inferred that governments, for one reason or another, naturally become more controlling over time, for a variety of reasons. The reasons can range from dealing with chaos, whether internal or external, a reflex of self-preservation if that government feels it will fall apart, or simply due to the greed of individuals, who feel that standing atop the world is not enough. Logically, the expansion of government power can only come at the expense of an individual's rights, and therefore, it is within the self interest of the individuals, even as a group, to stop overreaches of government power.

    For that reason, it is my opinion that the fifth value of free expression - checking government power - is the most important one. When a government does something illegal, whether using force unjustly,  infringing on the rights of an individual, or passing laws that are not in the interest of people, they must be called out on it, and the people made aware of what has happened. For example, the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the administration of George W Bush was made under false pretenses, and when those pretenses turned out to indeed be false, people across the country rightfully protested. Even the international community turned on the US and called them out for this unlawful act. It turned out, the US could very easily just invade another country with flimsy excuses and spotty evidence, and that kind of realization for everyone triggered an immense backlash. Even still, this specifically is an issue the public has to be extra keyed into. The US, being a world superpower, has extra responsibility to use their power justly and with thought. There’s a debate to be had about whether the US really owes anyone anything, but at very least, the public must hold the people in charge accountable, to at least not do evil. 

     I would also like to offer some personal thoughts to this idea, beyond just calling out the government when they do something wrong. It is my opinion that, in order to retain the rights we currently have, it’s important to use free speech to push the government to offer as many rights to citizens as possible. From my perspective, there will always be those who come into power with malicious intent, even if they are subtle about it. Over the years, while there has been great progress in rights for previously downtrodden groups, individuals have lost some rights they previously took for granted. Take things like the patriot act, for example. So, in order to strike the balance with the powers that be slowly attempting to chip away at individual rights, we must always remind the government that the individual is still present, and they would very much like their rights. I believe there is value in asking yourself whether a law chips away at your individual rights, and if it does, maybe raising a question about it to your local or state representative. Individual rights must be safeguarded from any who would try to take them away.