FREE ESSAY ON MYERS

MYERS

Myers did would not have hurt others in any way whatsoever. Had his actions not been
silenced they could have led to the discovery of the true opinions of employees, which
could have possibly led to changes in office procedures. Granted, Myers questionnaire
could have possibly offended managers in the office, but according to Mill, all
controversial speech causes offense and this is not an excuse for censorship. Speech
offends people that do not agree with it and if we permit the majority to censor anything
and everything that they do not agree with, we run the risk of silencing a possible
truth. In Myers case, it is possible that Connick disagreed with both the questionnaire
itself, and the results that came from it. Terminating Myers was a way for Connick to
censor speech that disagreed with his own beliefs. Furthermore, Myers became an example
to other employees, illustrating what could happen to them if they attempted to speak out
against the attitudes of company hierarchy.
I agree with Mill's logic because I do not think the government, an employer, or anybody
else should have the right to silence people's opinions. Myers' questionnaire, regardless
of what it said, was a statement in free speech. Even had he sent out an article
denouncing Connick there would still be no excuse for his termination. Freedom of speech
includes the right of expression. Look in any newspaper from the past two weeks and you
will most surely find some sort of political cartoon making fun of one of the
presidential candidates in this year's election. I agree with Mill that the protection of
free speech is necessary in order to reveal the true "truth." What I mean is that
everyday scientists are coming up with new "proven" theories about this effect or that,
all of which are written up as truths in scientific journals. Then, twenty years down the
road, a new theory arises and the old "truth" becomes a falsity. The same is the case
with Myers. By silencing him, Connick prevents the possibility of improvement within the
office. If progress becomes stagnant, office procedures will become outdated and useless.
With time, this can eventually lead to the destruction of the entire office. On the other
hand, by permitting Myers to distribute his questionnaire and then report his findings to
a higher power, he ends up helping the company by pointing out weak points within the
office so that they may be corrected. The silencing of Myers' speech puts all American's
civil liberties at risk and this must be stopped before censorship takes over and we find
our wonderful Democracy transforming into a dictatorship.