The main point of whistleblowing is to provide a service for the common good. There was no guarantee that it would turn out well for Roger Boisjoly or Chelsea Manning, but how speaking up impacts the person who blew the whistle shouldn’t determine its value. Rather it should be valued based on how the common good benefited from it. Knowing about the issues with the Challenger was important because it made many more engineers and businesses aware of the severe consequences that arise when certain risks are ignored. I do think that tech workers should speak the truth when the common good needs it. Of course it is hard to analyze whether one is truly helping the common good through speaking up, so it would take a lot of contemplation of the situation before committing to such a major action. Nevertheless, people must be proactive in their judgement and not simply be blind followers of whoever they are under. History does not look well upon people who were complicit in wrongdoing. If one has any sort of power to stop or expose such wrongdoing, then one should be willing to act. Of course it is a difficult decision to make, as it could cost one everything, as in the case of Roger Boisjoly, but the unfortunate reality is that can be the cost of doing the right thing. This reminds me of the slogan from Colin Kaepernick’s Nike commercial: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” I guess it is important to note that everything in this context is restricted to more worldly desires. Kaepernick may have lost his football career for what he did but he may have gained a lot more value on a personal level. Same with Roger and Chelsea, they lost a lot, but maybe they gained more in the intangibles. If we want to use a Christian lens, all the past martyrs lost the physical world through death, but they have glory in heaven. In the end it is all about standing up for what you believe is right, many can go their lives without encountering a situation where they have to make huge sacrifices for what is right, but some face such a scenario in the most grandest terms, and the sacrifices they will make will have unbelievable impact. Given the large influence technology is having on the world, speaking up in this industry can be huge. Of course, people must use their best judgement when speaking out. If there are internal protocols for addressing a grievance, those proper channels should be taken. The goal shouldn’t be to take someone down, but rather to fix what is wrong, and speaking out to the public should only be done when it is clear that this is the only reasonable way to fix that wrong. In most cases it won’t come to this, as most people are reasonable and will be willing to work with you. It is only in the extreme cases were drastic measures have to be taken, and that is when people need to rise to the occasion. When done right, speaking up can be one of the greatest things a person can do.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMarcos Salamanca Archives
October 2019
Categories |