What marks a historical moment is that suddenly it is, and we have to choose, suddenly to find that we have already made the choice a thousand times before in similar, less dramatic situations, even if we didn't know it at the time" (70).
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Reading Alford's 'Whistleblower' caused me to wonder about the "social determinants" of moral behavior. As Alford claims"the whistleblower is determined by the retaliation he or she receives". Bauman says (in regard to those who criticize an organization) that" all social organization consists therefore in neutralizing the disruptive and deregulating impact of moral behavior". In educational advocacy work I have observed school districts being unwilling to listen about student's school behavior incidents, and "transforming issues of ethics, politics, and policy into one issue, that of insubordination". In this manner, organizations squelch individuality, and presents a more uniform 'one size fits all' concept of education and behavior. If we are to believe that the "whistleblower is the quirky individual speaking out in a situation of moral ambiguity", what about clear cut examples such as in the Iraq war, where our soldiers who are fighting Bush's war, are made to pay for their Internet service, the lifeline to their families and sanity. This charge has been newly assessed after so many soldiers expressed their frustration and dissatisfaction with the lack of war progress in their e-mails home. The new charge and e-mail scrutiny has been framed under the Patriot Act, as a means to protect national security. This is concurrent with huge U.S. government contracts/payments to the private army Blackwater, as our soldiers do not even have generators to run air conditioners to deal with the 115 degree heat. No moral agency here. It demonstrates Foucalt's idea of power hierarchy within Bush administration wielded to subordinate others into self-censorship and silence.
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