The Supreme Court

I thought these videos were super enlightening! The Supreme Court has felt like a bit of a foreign body to me. I have heard about their decisions and learned about their impacts in history classes. I know that they influence precedent for laws in our country. More recently, however, especially with the Roe v. Wade decision, the power of the Supreme Court has become very interesting to me. I learned that our US Supreme Court is not only powerful, but the most powerful judicial body on earth. I also found it interesting and democratic that they get their legitimacy from the constitution, but their real power rests on public faith and their independence and impartiality. 

One thing that I learned and didn't know about the Supreme Court before was the numbers behind the scenes like just how many cases came through their office, how many are actually taken, and even the number of justices throughout time. It is crazy to me that in all of our country's history that there have only been just over 100 justices appointed who serve an average of 16 years each, but many twice as that! They often go on to serve decades after the president who actually appointed them. Another crazy number is that they receive 100 new cases each week and about 7000 total a year. I am grateful to live in a country where each and every case gets same individual consideration no matter what. That is truly remarkable for size of our country. 

The most important take-away for me was that this video really helped me to humanize the Court. While it is a very impressive and difficult job, when it comes down to it they are just trained in the law dealing with human dilemmas. The whole "inside story" of the court is that there is no inside story; it is simply people thinking. I also admire that the first thing they do when they gather is shake hands with everyone. Touch humanizes the whole process and makes it easier to not hold a grudge if they disagree. They also have the rule that everyone speaks once before anyone speaks twice which shows great respect. I was also surprised to see that the justices are relatively open minded. They could have a decision in their minds and they do try to stick to it and argue it, but sometimes their minds are changed. 

A quote from the video that stuck out to me: "there's the argument you plan to give, the argument you gave, and the argument you wish you gave." That is something every person can relate to and I am grateful for my new perspective of the more human side of the Supreme Court.

Online Privacy

The first topic I want to talk about is how the man in the first video mentioned that constant regulation of what we were doing allows governments, companies, and people to know our preferences. He used the example of the black dress. The video surveillance picked up on the fact that you often wear black dresses and then you go into a store where they conveniently have five black dresses picked out for you to try on. While this is absolutely an invasion of privacy, I can’t help but let my mind wander to the positive side of this. While I don’t like my privacy being invaded, is it so bad to have marketing and advertising targeted to what I like? If I like to wear black dresses, isn’t it kind of efficient that ads of black dresses are targeted towards me? If I regularly shop for crafting supplies, isn’t it convenient when I am alerted of a sale on crafting items? 

In the same tune, I can’t help but think of the positive side of the police departments having access to civilians like never before. On one hand, it does kind of creep me out that the government has hundreds of pictures of me. It creeps me out that they know where I go and what I do and who I go with. It creeps me out that they can pull up my license plate tag and figure out if I attend church or therapy or AA. It is eerie that the government is able to gather information on civilians like never before. Maybe it is the optimist in me that has to see the good. We live in a very dangerous world today. While I am creeped out, I also find a sense of peace knowing that the police have easy access to so many people in a given community. God forbid something should go wrong, I find comfort going to the police department and feeling confident that they could resolve the issue with such vast information readily available. 

With all of this in mind, I take to heart the advice given in these videos. They inspired me to really rethink what I post online as it is never really private. It encouraged me to take precautions using the tools I have available to me like encryption devices to ensure my privacy. It helped me put into perspective that while technology is a blessing, it can also be very damaging to our private lives and that we should all use it with caution. 

My Top 5 Sources of News & Information

If I am being honest, I do not particularly enjoy keeping up with the news. It's not because the news is boring or unimportant, but it is because it usually fills me with righteous anger or sadness. Sometimes I feel stuck, like I cannot do much besides vote in order to change anything. That is why for a long time I did not keep up with the news. I am from Philadelphia which right now, like every other big city at the moment, is filled with crime like never before. It makes me feel scared and uneasy in my own city. Despite these things, I know how important it is to stay informed so that we can learn about the world around us, stay safe, and form an educated opinion on current issues. Here is where I get the majority of my news: 

1. Instagram/Snapchat : I use Instagram to follow a variety of accounts so that I can be exposed to different types of news. I follow political accounts, environmental accounts, and even accounts that fill me in on Hollywood news. I know that social media is not the most reliable form of news, but I use the platform less for factual information and more for just general exposure to different types of news and what everyone is talking about now. On Snapchat, you don't particularly follow specific accounts but are rather exposed to different news channels on your explore page. Through this, I am exposed to a variety of news stories that younger audiences are talking about which inspires me to look further into that topic to learn more. I also enjoy that Snapchat often utilizes personal stories and experiences related to a current issue so that you can hear a real-time perspective. For example, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, many women who were both pro-life and pro-choice stepped out on the platform to share their authentic stories related to the issue which I very much enjoyed having the opportunity to listen to both sides.

2. Google News: This source may seem simple, but I love it. I normally take a story I hear on social media or one I overhear while my mom is watching the news and search it on Google News. Or I will even just take a keyword that is buzzing around and type it in and see what happens. I love the variety and the vast amount of results you will get just by typing in a single word. 

3. The Telegraph: The Telegraph is published in London. I check this news source from time to time because I think it is important to not only look at the news from the American perspective. Sometimes the content feels a bit irrelevant, but I especially like to check this source for more international issues to get a European perspective. I also think it is cool that it was founded in 1855 because they must be doing something right to stay in business that long!

4. AP News : This is a source I found through a good friend of mine. One day I said to her, "I hate how biased every article I read is; I feel like I cannot get the facts!" She suggested to me to check out her favorite source of news... AP News. She told me she loved it because it wasn't left or right leaning, for Republicans or Democrats, but it was the most unbiased and fact-based news site she ever came across. Ever since then I have enjoyed exploring AP News. 

5. Fox News: While I try my best to stay neutral and form opinions on issues individually, I grew up hearing Fox News and in a conservative home. I like to use Fox News just to see what people who lean more right are saying about issues. I always make sure to fact check as I know biased news is not always reliable. However, I do like to read about the conservative perspective on certain issues.