Some Rocky Art (EOTO 1)

There are two main forms of rock art: petroglyphs and pictographs. Rock art was created before the more modern sense of writing and was how people communicated. Petroglyphs are a type of ancient rock carvings. They are made through incising, pecking, carving, and abrading the surface of a rock. They are different from pictographs, in that a pictograph is a painting done on a wall. Petroglyphs are usually associated with prehistoric people and are found all over the world. However, my research mostly focused on North American petroglyphs. 

 

The oldest Petroglyphs in the U.S. were found in Nevada and date back 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. This is significant because there is very little leftover from the earliest settlers of North America. Petroglyphs are thought to mean a number of things. They could represent religious symbols, warnings, pre-writing, and even symbols for musical instruments. 

A strange phenomenon is that many nations across the world have similar petroglyphs. Researchers have many different theories as to why this is, ranging from migration patterns to the shared use of hallucinogenics among shamans. Overall, no one really knows why so many petroglyphs across the world are the same. It's one of the great mysteries of ancient humans, and always will be. 

Eight Values of Free Expression

Within the United States, the first amendment protects multiple human rights, including the freedom of speech. As a nation,  this freedom has guided the U.S. for decades. Scholars theorize that there are eight theories as to why this right of free speech is so important to Americans. 

Marketplace of Ideas - This is pretty much the idea that when a group of people come together and some lie while others tell the truth, the truth will win out.

Participation in Self-Government - This is the idea that voters want to know everything a candidate says in order to have a real opinion on who they support.

Stable Change - This is the idea that the more people are able to rant about their emotions and grievances, the less violence there will be. 

Individual Self-Fulfillment -  This is the theory that when allowed to freely express yourself, you began to form an identity as an individual. 

Check on Governmental Power - This is the theory that citizens along with the press are able to be a part of the checks and balances ingrained into our government. 

Promate Tolerance - This theory states that through freedom of speech, hate speech can make us more tolerant. We are able to recognize hateful speech and see that it is not acceptable, and therefore find tolerance and norms in our society, 

Promate Innovation - This is the idea that a society with free speech and expression is one where ideas can flow and people can collaborate and find new ideas and theories.  

Protect Dissent - This is the theory that minority opinions are protected. The U.S. isn't meant to be made up of one overarching opinion or ideal, and all ideas and opinions are protected. 

Of these eight, two stood out to me: Stable Change and Individual Self-Fulfillment. 

With Stable Change, I have an issue. I think that to a certain extent ranting out negative emotions is helpful, however after a certain amount of time it becomes an unhealthy coping mechanism that leads to verbal fighting. I find that venting about things or people who upset you becomes addicting and that it can become toxic very quickly. The other issue is that people tend to rant or vent to like-minded individuals which only makes the whole experience more addicting to them. After spending years of ranting to people who feel the same way, finding someone with different opinions leads to awful, toxic, verbal fights. I believe that having the right to vent or rant is important, but that it does not decrease violence or false opinions. 

With Individual Self-Fulfillment, I completely agree with this theory and find it very compelling. I think that the ability to freely communicate is what makes an individual themself. When someone is taught to hide themselves and not to communicate how they feel or what they think, they cannot form a personality or identity. One of the greatest things about the United States, despite all its faults, is that we are able to freely express ourselves. While at times this leads to fighting and disagreements, it is worth it. I believe that free speech is a basic human right that should be available to all. Without the ability to express ourselves, who are we? Luckily, as American's, we are able to not only find ourselves but to explore ourselves and find self-fulfillment. 

The Supreme Court of the United States

I have never known much about the Supreme Court. I knew that it was one of the three U.S. branches of government, the Judicial and that it is the top legal source in the country. I knew that there are three levels of courts; district, appellate, and Supreme. The Supreme Court typically has nine justices that are appointed by the President and confirmed, or in cases denied, by the U.S. Senate. The amount of justice's originally was six, but was changes in 1869 to nine and has stayed there ever since. I learned that the Supreme Court is a branch that interprets the U.S. Constitution and has the ability to deem things as constitutional and unconstitutional.

I think the most surprising thing I learned was that the Supreme Court has the power to check the other central government branches. I knew that the U.S. has its branches set up as a system of checks and balances, but I never knew the Supreme Court was the primary check for the other branches. The video made me realize how powerful the Supreme Court actually is. I always thought of it as a slightly more authoritative court, never as the interpreters of the constitution. This video and the article have given me a new perspective on the Supreme Court and it's role in my life and the rest of the country's.