Blog Post #3

 Check on Governmental Power (aka Watchdog Role)

    In today's world no one feels like they can trust their government, everyone feels like their government is either hiding something from them or just straight up lying to them. This fact is made true by some of the different government/presidential scandals that have happened throughout America's history. Check on governmental power also known as the checks and balances, this part of the constitution that basically says the three branches cannot overpower the other branches.

    Check on governmental power is important to free speech because it gives the people the chance to make sure their government stays in line and does not go crazy with power. An example of the check on governmental power working would be the watergate scandal. The scandal was President Nixon was up for re-election and he did not know whether he would win or not due to the Vietnam war, the country was divided because half people did not want to war (mainly Democrats) and the other half wanted it (Republicans). The Watergate scandal was that President Nixon sent burglars into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters. The burglars were sent in there to tap the phone lines and find secret documents that could help him win the election, they were found out because the tap did not work the first time and they ended up getting caught trying to break in again to fix it. Nixon ended up resigning because people found out that he was trying to cover it up and lie about it. This example shows how well the check on governmental power works for the people of America. The people were able to find out the things the government was doing and held him accountable for his actions. 

More about the WaterGate Scandal

I think Vincent Blasi puts it best with this quote, "in the last decade, the First Amendment has had at least as much impact on American life by facilitating a process by which countervailing forces check the misuse of official power as by protecting the dignity or the individual, maintaining a diverse society in the face of conformist pressures, promoting the quest for scientific and philosophic truth, or fostering a regime of "self-government" in which large numbers of ordinary citizens take an active part in political affairs." (Blasi, pg 527). This quote to me means that normal everyday people can stand up for themselves and can speak up against the issue they have with the government without being persecuted like many other countries do when someone tries to speak out against the government. The other meaning I get from this quote is that the individual has a voice and that it is okay for them to be different from the norms. 

Blasi on Government Power