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Yvette Avila

Valerie Fong

English 1S_01

18 Oct. 2017

Freedom of Press

Have you ever thought about how our lives would be if we did not have a free press?

Would we know what would be going on with the rest of the world? Most likely not. Would we

know about modernity, social change, or government exposure? Also no. For example,

Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Under their rule, Afghanistan was cut off from the rest of the

world. Thanks to our free press and freedom of speech, we do not need to worry about that.

The purpose of modernity is to help with social change. The consequences of no

modernity lead to being a black hole of human freedom as Hoffman explains (33). But what

plays a big role in modernity? As Hoffman explains, Media are the common denominator of

modern life, the collective eyes and ears of a community (57)., but when there is no media

allowed, we would be a primitive cultural wasteland (33) like Afghanistan. They had no

freedom of speech, everything was closely monitored and censored, music and dance was

prohibited, as well as local newspapers. But things drastically changed when the allied forces

chased the Taliban from the power in October 2001. Afghanistan was finally free and thanks to

the media and new technologies, a fantastically undeveloped society can leapfrog to modernity

in a single decade. (33). Mobile telephony is also another big thing that happened in

Afghanistan. It is the biggest employer next to agriculture and has undeniably been the single

greatest economic success story in the country since the fall of the Taliban (53). It is safe to say
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that they are catching up with modernity, but what's next? Modernity will keep us updated on

things around the world and will keep upgrading our future.

Modernity also helps with social change in a way that will help people thrive. But,

media continues to be the most powerful force for social change the world has ever known

(15). What would it take for social change to happen? It is the people who make a difference. We

have to want social change for it to be able to happen. People can get together and brainstorm on

how they can upgrade something cultural or social. Others with different points of view on

society play a big role too. For example, innovators and activists see the potential in the power of

electronic media. It is people who make a difference, individual innovators and activists who

realize the colossal power of electronic media to bring about social change (16). But without

awareness, social change cannot happen. That is one of the reasons Afghanistan did not have

social change while under the Taliban rule, because they were not aware on what was going on

around them. The media gave voice to those silenced by censorship (16). People have different

points of view on society which also spark a change. Some want change, others may be use to

the way they have been living for most of their lives and may be scared of change. Either way,

change will happen with the minds and motivation of the right people. We are responsible for

social change to be able to take place.

The purpose of a free press is to have everyone updated on what's going on not only in a

country, but with the rest of the world. However, the Government may prevent and hide certain

things from being exposed. I think the Taliban banned a lot and limited everything so that they

wouldnt be exposed, but it ended up happening either way. People learned about the

mechanisms of power, which had been kept in such secrecy (26). This quote says a lot. People

were so limited on what they could know that even the simplest things were being banned.
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Censorship was so bad that people did not know what was going on. For example, it is a fair bet

that if you are reading this, you knew more about what was going on in 2001 than those in

Afghanistan who were shaving their beards or flying kites or wondering if they would survive

the night (36). To me, it is hard to believe that people lived under that rule, limited on basic

things like freedom of speech. When people in a country like Afghanistan can hear their voices

and express their opinions without fear, it transforms the culture (48).

Ultimately, the purpose of a free press is for everyone to have the same freedom to say

whatever they would like. To not live in such a controlled space, nor be brainwashed into

thinking that it is OK to do. We are humans, getting basic things taken away from us is unfair in

my opinion, and the punishment was cruel. Hopefully the future of our free press will keep

progressing in a positive way, as the decades come.

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Works Cited

Hoffman, David. Citizens Rising: Independent Journalism and the Spread of Democracy.

CUNY Journalism Press, 2013.