Did Manning act out of loyalty to the United States when she released the footage in the video? Do her actions constitute a moral or immoral case of whistleblowing?
In the video “Collateral Murder?” Julian Assange discussed the video that Chelsea manning released of a Baghdad airstrike that presented ethical issues within our military warfare. Manning felt an obligation to the citizens of her nation to become aware of how light the execution procedures were in war but also how disassociated the military soldiers were when killing. The videos that were released depicted not only the language used during the killing but also the disassociation they had and even a lack of sympathy for the children, The video also questioned the lack of strict procedures when determining if a shooter can execute killings. She felt this was an issue that only those involved saw and needed to be shown to the rest of the country as they ultimately would suffer any consequences as a nation. In this Case Analysis, I will argue that the deontological theory shows us that Manning did act out of loyalty to the United States and that her actions were a moral case of whistleblowing.
In the text “Whistle Blowing and Rational Loyalty,” Wim Vandekerckhove explains the central concepts behind the ethics of whistleblowing and loyalty to a company. The main concept that Vandekerckhove discusses is how loyalty is measured and to what extent loyalty reaches between employees and employers. He looks at what type and how much loyalty is expected from employees in order for society as a whole to grow. Another main concept that Vandekerckhove discusses is the idea that whistleblowing is actually a way for employees to be loyal to their companies. He discusses the idea that being loyal, and whistleblowing may actually be the same thing, rather than whistleblowing meaning you have betrayed your company.
Based on the deontological theory, the ethical or correct thing for employees to do is to whistle blow within the company, like institutional whistleblowing. The deontological theory states that the ethical choice to make is one that ethical decision would be one that by itself is a good actor rather than the outcome of that action being good. Vandekerckhove explains that a loyal employee too would want to see the company they work for continue to grow and do right, so by whistleblowing internally to the company, they would in fact be acting loyal by helping them stay on a prosperous route. From a deontological perspective, one would be doing the ethical action by saying something if they know or see something that is wrong. The action that it will bring, either good or bad, should not prevent the employee from doing a good thing and saying something. The employee would actually be acting unethically if they chose to not say anything at all because the act of staying silent would be unethical on its own. Another concept that Vandekerckhove discusses is to what extent employees should feel and be loyal to the companies they work for. He explains that it should be a mutual loyalty between the two and while loyalty is needed, complete tolerance should not be given to employers. If we look at it from a deontological perspective, it would not be ethical to give complete tolerance to a company that is doing incorrect things just because being loyal is a good thing. Employees should not give their complete loyalty to a company if it means overlooking the wrongs that are being committed. The ethical decision would be for employees to have an equal level of loyalty to their employers as they are proving a job, but to also say something when they see something wrong. Honesty can help correct mistakes and in companies can save them millions of dollars as well as their reputation. Regardless of the outcome, employees need to remember that it is most ethically correct to do good actions because they are good and not because they will result in good things later on. Choosing to stay silent because an employee believes that it will result in a worthy demonstration of loyalty is indeed unethical because they made the decision to stay silent and not speak up when something was wrong.
In the text “Care and Loyalty in the Workplace,” Julinna Oxley and D. E. Wittkower explain the central concepts behind the ethics of what it means to be loyal to a company, how loyalty is determined, and the conflict of whether or not whistleblowing is an act of loyalty or betrayal. Both Oxley and Wittkower explain how loyalty to a company cannot be expected and demanded. Employees must form relationships with co-workers and the company’s missions and values in order to feel a sense of loyalty. They then begin to discuss that loyalty can be determined by not only the relationships that employees have with one another but also by how aligned their values and missions are. Finally, Oxley and Wittkower explain that whistleblowing is actually a demonstration of care and loyalty to not only their co-workers but the company as well since they are doing so with the intention to either protect them or help them out by bringing attention to an issue.
Based on the deontological theory, the ethical or correct thing for employees to do is act in ways that demonstrate that they care for the relationships they have at work with co-workers and the company made of all the workers. The deontological theory claims that the ethical decision is the one that is morally correct regardless of the outcome. We should do good things because they are good and not because of what they will cause. On the contrary, we should not do bad actions just because they will result in good consequences since a bad action was still committed. Oxley and Wittkower explain that employees develop loyalty to co-workers and companies based on the relationships and connections they make. This sense of loyalty can then be justification for whistleblowing. They explain that whistleblowing would indeed be a demonstration of loyalty due to it either protecting one of their co-workers or even helping the company as a whole by bringing attention to an issue. Their explanations of why and how employees show loyalty to companies as well as why they feel the need to whistle blow would not be considered ethical based on the deontological theory. From this ethical perspective, one does good things because they are good. No reason or future positive reaction is needed to justify an individual doing a good thing. In this case, Oxley and Wittkower state that there must be some type of connection or relationship for employees to have any type of loyalty towards their companies. They also state that employees whistle blow because they care about their co-workers and the overall company. From a deontological perspective, employees should have a sense of loyalty because being loyal is the right thing to do when you work somewhere (not to be confused with complete tolerance) and employees and people, in general, should speak up and whistle blow if something is wrong because it is the right thing to do and not because of who it can benefit. Whistleblowing only when a relationship or connection is there would be conditional, making it unethical.
In conclusion, based on the deontological theory, it is ethically correct for individuals to speak out and whistle blow when they feel something is wrong and attention needs to be brought to an issue. In Manning’s case, she felt the military was acting unethically when it came to executing killing and even though she had obligations to the United States Military, she knew the right thing to do regardless of the consequences was to release that video. In the case of Oxley and Wittkower, from a deontological perspective, their explanation as to why employees are loyal and whistle blow would not be ethical. Employees should have some degree of loyalty because it is the right thing to do. Speaking out or whistleblowing, when something is wrong, should not be conditional on the relationships we have with co-workers or our loyalty. The ethical decision should always be to do the right thing, regardless of the outcome, and not done only in certain situations.