A Whistle-Blower for All Seasons

Whistle-blowing has had a colossal and venerable tradition in the history of politics. From Cicero and his Catiline Orations to Cynthia Cooper at WorldCom, tin whistleblowers have existed for as long as there was political intrigue and power on the line.For this essay, however, the focus will be on one particular far-famed historical whistle-blower Sir Thomas to a greater extent, a former chancellor to enthalpy VIII of England. This essay will attempt two things to compare Sir Thomas More to recent famous whistle-blowers and to determine what makes an effective whistle-blower.By way of background, in 1534 King Henry VIII of England sought an annulment from his offset wife, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry Anne Boleyn. (Brigden) More resigned from the Chancellorship when the English Parliament enacted several acts designed to wrest authorization over the English Church from Rome when the Kings annulment was refused by the Pope. (Williams) He was at long last executed for his refusal to coope rove.Sir Thomas More, as portrayed in Robert Bolts play c altogethered A globe For All Seasons, is the penultimate man of conscience. In one of the more famous lines from the play, Sir Thomas answers Norfolks pleas for friendship on the matter of the Act of Succession by replying, And when we stand before God, and you are sent to paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me for fellowship? (Bolt)This shows the heed with which Sir Thomas More held the human conscience, and deemed that a man ought to live and die by the dictates of that conscience.This particular property is something he shares with modern-day whistle-blowers like Linda Lewis of the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the US Department of Agriculture, who blew the whistle on her agencys lack of preparedness in the event of a terrorist attack. She claimed that both More and Martin Luther were her inspirations when she made the decision to blow the whistle, quoting Martin Luthers Peace if possible, but truth at any rate. (Andersen)Sir Thomas More also had the advantage of a strong faith, which lent him transcendent moral ideals. He was the Kings good servant, but Gods first, whose answer to Norfolks doubting of the concept of Apostolic Succession1 was, But what matters to me is not whether its true or not but that I moot it to be true. (Bolt) His faith was tied to his notions of conscience, and a violation of a transcendent moral dominion was more intolerable than political and personal upheaval. Whistle-blowing can be a very isolating act.A whistle-blower often breaches expectations of loyalty from the group he or she belongs to. (Bok) This leads to retaliation from the group the whistle-blower once judge to be safe in. However, a transcendent belief, be it in the form of ethics, religious beliefs, community allegiances, ontological security, economic security or political ideology, helps wh istle-blowers identify with a higher authority and gives them the fortitude to go through with the act and withstand the strong pressure to conform. (Jasper)More shares this trait with FBI whistle-blower Fred Whitehurst, who claimed that his religious faith uphold him in his decision to against his superiors in a matter of evidence tampering. (Andersen)1 Apostolic Succession is the doctrine that all bishops of the Church are successors of the Apostles, with the Pope succeeding St. Peter.