Spiral of Silence

Have you ever publicly spoken out against anyone? If you have ever disagreed with your mom, felt differently than a teacher on a topic, or even argued with your best friend, for some it's not easy to speak your opinion if it causes issues or disrupts relationships. Sometimes, even if it's uncomfortable, you have to stand up for yourself and speak your truth. This, in my opinion, was the most important value in the eight values of expression. But what if you speak out against the government? What if you disagree with what they're saying? Well, it couldn’t be that scary. The Framers created a system of government that citizens would have a say in, to prevent this from happening! Duh! 

But I'm sure the Framers did not plan on a 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. They didn’t realize what the world would bring, and I'm sure they couldn't fathom the idea of social media. They sure didn't know about the “Spiral of Silence” theory. This is a theory that because people are scared to speak out against the government, they hold back their opinions. In today’s society, many citizens fear the government. After sporadic online stories and social media posts of government conspiracy theories, such as Area 51 and the Mandela effect, many are scared to have to witness what the government is truly capable of with the power they have. The government, specifically the NSA, has a scary stigma of being able to make people disappear, or alter their life in a way that it doesn't threaten the federal government. During a time of chaos, such COVID, many stay silent in fear of the consequences. 

This has also been more evident on all forms of social media. The creators of these platforms had hopes that social media would be a place to create discussion, and for minority groups to feel like they had a voice. Multiple people have reported that some of their content has been removed and taken down because of a political opinion. It's interesting most of all because our current president has a strong presence on twitter. He uses twitter the way it was intended to be used, to express our opinion and spark discussion. Many have noticed that tweets in response that are offensive or are of different opinion have been taken down, or the entire account has been deleted. 

Mass Communication Theory explained that “fears continually build within the minority opinion holder, hence the minority opinion is never voiced”. How is it that an entire nation of citizens can fall into the category of “minority”? Did we fail the Framers in letting the government consume too much power, or was it inevitable from the moment they created the system they did? During a time like this, it's important to be able to trust the government. If they invade our privacy, cause us to be silent, withhold information and infringe on the first amendment, can we trust our government to uphold our constitutional rights as a whole?

https://masscommtheory.com/theory-overviews/spiral-of-silence/