Part two of a two-part story (Part one ran Monday)
When the media has its hands tied, why don’t we go undercover?
An undercover agent pretends to be a friend confidant or employee for the purpose of getting one to divulge information that one would not give to them under official circumstances.
When we see undercover investigative reports, we never stop to ask, “Is this right?”
Imagine that you have a new friend. This person is very friendly and caring and listens to all of your complaints. They are especially interested in the complaints about how your boss is doing something shady.
Not long after you start divulging specifics of the relationship, you see your face on television as part of an undercover investigative report.
Beside it is your friend’s, talking about how he managed to gain your trust and how hard it was to get the information from you. He smiles as he basks in the glow of this betrayal.
That night you get a phone call. It’s your boss. He’s telling you not to come in to work tomorrow. Sure, you could sue for wrongful termination, but even if you win, who’ll hire you? Your face has been splashed on nationwide television. There’s no way anyone will hire a “whistle blower,” even an unintentional one.
Yet, shouldn’t we be proud we told the truth? Is it really worth the cost in human life and livelihood?
What if your boss was a guy with a nickname like “The Hammer” who likes to use power tools on his enemies, and you have exposed his great extortion scam. The call you get may be at 4 a.m., followed by the discovery of your dismembered corpse in a dumpster the following afternoon. Yet, we told the truth.
In this situation there are no comfortable answers. In my experience, I’ve come to realize that any attempt to share the truth (especially if its negative) always leads to the hurting of innocent people.
Truth is indiscriminate. It harms the just and the unjust alike.
What is our ultimate responsibility, then?
A part of me, the ethical, logical part, says, “the truth, always the truth.” Yet another, more sympathetic, part says, “but what about those caught in the crossfire?”
Is it just that the guilty go free so that the innocent may not be punished, or do we tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may?
Above all, think about this the next time someone tells you a secret, the kind you know you shouldn’t keep. Life is real, and so are the consequences.

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