Among the CIA, the FBI and the Witness Protection Program, there remains another federal giant for security. Their name? The American Thought Police, and they’ve been rapidly making their way into the national spotlight ever since 2010 began.
The thought police have conquered many over the last four months (including CNN’s senior editor of Mideast Affairs, Octavia Nasr, and daytime anchor Rick Sanchez and Helen Thomas, columnist for the Hearst News Service). The most recent victim is Juan Williams, a former senior news analyst for National Public Radio. Williams was dismissed from NPR upon appearing on “The O’Reilly Factor” and admitting that when he would see people in “Muslim garb” on an airplane, he would “have a moment of anxiety or fear given what happened on 9/11.” A few short days later, Williams received a phone call informing him his contract with NPR had been terminated.
So this is what the world has come to: firing employees because they stated an opinion. I understand that Williams’ comment was blunt and, if interpreted incorrectly, could appear extremely offensive. But the fact of the matter is that all of the hijackers on 9/11 were Muslim. Does this mean all Muslims are terrorists? Absolutely not. However, because the acts of terrorism on 9/11 were so horrific, it is not uncommon to share the same fear Williams voiced. This doesn’t mean he’s against Islam; it was simply a confession of discomfort. I’m not saying I agree with Williams, but I find it beyond absurd that he lost his job because he was being honest. Plus, it goes without saying that the terrorist attacks on 9/11 were traumatic, emotionally wounding Americans all over the nation. If voicing an opinion about the fears that remain after the attacks is unacceptable, how are Americans as individuals and as a nation going to grow or heal?
Many of the US media power players may have forgotten that within the Constitution, there’s the Bill of Rights. Within the Bill of Rights, there are the amendments. And in that first listed amendment, in the document on which our country was founded, it states that all citizens are entitled to the freedom of press, religion, assembly, petition and speech. Although protected under the Constitution to speak freely, Williams and the other journalists were still terminated for opinionated comments they made.
Not only is NPR out of line for restricting an employee’s First Amendment rights, but it has also overstepped the boundaries of the Constitution. It’s quite concerning to know we live in a world in which speaking your mind isn’t acceptable. Volatire, a French writer, once said, “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it,” and he’s exactly right. As a nation, America always prided itself on being the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” But by punishing those who practice their rights and instilling fear in others, this country isn’t living up to its name.
Davis Williams • Apr 12, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Thats a good point, and I agree with you mostly accept for one thing. This man was a syndicated journalist who had been with NPR for a while. The idea that a company could have such little loyalty or sympathy for its employees disgusts me because what he said was understandable and by no means some type of extreme statement. He was on a highly rated television show that is known for its controversial host, they should have expected this man to say something for his own rather then for a company. Orielly was asking for his opinion, not the companies, and I believe NPR should respect that.
Zach Brand • Nov 19, 2010 at 12:17 pm
First off, First Amendment Rights have nothing to do with this. The first amendment guarantees the freedom from the GOVERNMENT’s infringement on restricting freedom of speech, but it does not forbid private enterprises to restrict speech. And yes, perhaps NPR shouldn’t have fired him over one comment, but the fact is that he stated something that was contrary to the policies of NPR while speaking as an NPR representative. In this way, he was misrepresenting NPR for the whole world, an act worthy of termination.
Consider this. If an employee was caught saying his/her boss was a variety of four-letter-words, he would be terminated, correct? Would you still stick up for his “right” to free speech? No, you wouldn’t because he was in the wrong. With a more appropriate example, imagine you were hired as a PR agent for a company, and asked to give a statement. During the course of this statement, you said things completely contrary to the values your company stood for. You would be fired, because you misrepresented the company, which is what happened here.