Marketplace of Ideas

The freedom of America is held in the beauty of our rights to free expression. The marketplace of ideas was a construct philosophically developed by John Milton in 1644, and was reinvented by John Stuart Mill in his book On Liberty in 1859. The marketplace of ideas was a belief that anyone can present creations, beliefs, and constructs that is challenged by one another as individuals or as groups, and not monitored or censored by government or other authority. The philosophy and practice of this idea has managed well in the past, yet I challenge that this system in modern day America in some aspects can be deemed invalid.

The one major point I would like to assess is the freedom and expression of belief. Belief is a fragile topic in current America; we all have the freedom to pursue our passions, dreams, desires and beliefs, yet with the media so easily accessible we find ourselves conforming to what the media and the government want us to believe, think and feel. Political agendas thrive through the media. With the access to the whole country at their fingertips, every major political scheme, which can be from either party, will use incidences, unfortunate situations and tragedies to filter through the media in a manor that promotes their schemes. I will only focus on one subject in the belief category, and this is the right to bare arms. After hearing this disturbing message delivered from a Charlottesville, VA radio station (which the state is heavily pushing for anti gun laws), it leaves a shocking image in you mind. In the background, you can hear the faint laughter of babies and the joy they are having, the message suddenly cuts in to a woman proposing that you should "make the right choices, especially with all the children you love. In a world full of conflict and war, and mass killing and hate crimes ... choose peace this holiday." The message takes this sudden twist, for it appears peaceful and fun, but what the government of Virginia is (brilliantly) doing is wiring your mind and children's minds to recognize the threat that guns have to the safety of America; this places the blame of tragedy on the machine and not the man. So by choosing to have the belief to carry and own guns, we are viewed as criminals and life-takers who have no compassion or sympathy for the well-being of others. This can be no farther from the truth.

I believe that we have a damaged system for belief, for we are no longer welcomed by choosing our own ideologies. Those who stand against the grain of what propaganda is being promoted are a threat to society. The only solution that we can find as a nation is for individuals to somehow manage to stop being conformed by the monitored media and choose to live a life separate from such influences - yet, that will never happen.