Whistleblowing has recently become a loaded word in the past
months. Some think it is against the American way and others think it is just
what we need. However, whistleblowers have been an important part of American
history. In the 1770s, there was a whistleblower against the first commodore of
the US Navy. In the 1960s, Deep Throat brought up the claims about the
Watergate scandal. In 1998, the first legal process for whistleblowers was made.
Former President Obama in 2013, made whistleblower protections. The most
current case in the news is a whistleblower who brought to the public a
conversation with President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The
whistleblower brought up that President Trump was withholding military aid to
get information on Joe Biden’s son Hunter. This is considered quid pro quo and
should not be used politically to get information on political rivals.
The main question right now is if the identity of the
whistleblower should be kept secret. The whistleblower has a lot on the line if
their identity would be revealed. They most likely would be retaliated against
by the President. He has already gone to Twitter to complain about them. The people
who support Trump would also strike back against them as well and so would the
media. The career of the whistleblower would be affected as well. Often people
do not want someone who will tell on them if they see wrongdoing. It makes
them worried about whatever they are doing.
Revealing the identity would not only affect this whistleblower.
This would cause some potential whistleblowers with good intentions to feel like
it is too risky to come out and say anything. This is detrimental because
people should feel like it is okay to point out wrongdoings. This helps hold
people accountable and everyone in government should be held accountable even
if they are the president.
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