Freedom of Speech in China

In the United States it is easy to put your opinion out into the world. Everyday blogs are posted, editorials written, and other such reading materials concerning any matter the we deem important. It is astonishing how open we can be about our government, and it is surprising how many other countries, are unaware of our rights. When we had two speakers from China speak to us, they mentioned how they believed their country allows some free speech. When they were comparing it to the amount we had, they really did not understand. According to our speakers, we could print some ideas in our papers, but Americans still had some conditions of moderation. When we explained to them that this was not the case, we can actually say anything -providing it’s not slanderous- about anyone, even the president himself, the speakers were incredulous. I find it amazing myself how little the speakers knew about our freedom of speech, and they had been here for about four years! I guess they were blinded by the same blindness we have about China, neither country really knows about the other. As Westerners we have this perception that Chinese citizens cannot even step out of their front door without being watched, but apparently they have more freedom than we give them credit for. According to Rana Mitter, “Tian'anmen Square now shapes popular understanding of the Chinese Government in the West.”* Americans have not seen the evolution that has apparently taken place in China, where it is now okay for people to publish their own opinions. Our speakers said that they believed that they had freedom of speech in their home country, just not to the extent that we have here. Although they claimed to have some freedom of speech, the speakers did say that one editor was fired for printing an article that spoke poorly of the government, but that conditions were improving.
Free media is something that we take for granted in America, but many people believe that is because of the work of our founding fathers that this is true. According to Jacob Hornberger, “our ancestors knew that in the absence of such an express prohibition, U.S. officials would do what the Chinese officials are doing — punishing people for criticizing the government.”** Modern day Americans have never had to ask permission to say what they want, and are therefore ignorant to those who constantly do. Although we are unaware of these people, they are certainly aware of us, as they look to the United States to guide them into a new age.

*http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0JQP/is_371/ai_n6204998/pg_2?tag=artBody;col1

**http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2008-08-21.asp

political parties

The political party that would benefit our country is the centrist party. This party believes in having an open mind, which is a very important quality in government. By opposing extreme views, more progress could be achieved, and perhaps congress would be able to agree more readily. This would be a positive change that would benefit our country, because we would be able to have decisions made quickly.
The downside of having everyone from the same party, is that there are no opposing views. Sometimes when two people disagree, the compromise is actually what is best for the people. It can also be hard to present new ideas, because people can be stuck in their own ways. If the government was of the same party, it might not be the best for the people. After all, democracy is having everyone have their say, so if we only have one political party, we wouldn't really be following our own ideas.