The signatories are fighting back against the culture of fear

If the media is diluted with hand-picked voices, then freedom of the press is essentially bypassed in favor of an echo chamber. Journalistic integrity is at stake, especially while the threat of “fake news” demands a higher level of dedication to both opinion and fact. As stated in the Harper’s Letter, “Editors are fired for running controversial pieces; books are withdrawn for alleged inauthenticity; journalists are barred from writing on certain topics; professors are investigated for quoting works of literature in class; a researcher is fired for circulating a peer-reviewed academic study; and the heads of organizations are ousted for what are sometimes just clumsy mistakes.”^[1] These supposed controversies range from literal job requirements to the generally expected fumblings that come along with being a human being. This is not to say there are no moral wrongs, or that justice should not be served in many cases; however, the most constructive thing we can do for our society is to guide others down a redemptive path rather than crucifying them over it. Societal consequences have their place, but the loss of livelihood is no insignificant thing and should be reserved for only the essential times. The firing of David Shor was one of the stated motivations for the letter's original author, Thomas Chatterton Williams. The circumstances behind the firing were so muddled between objective facts and emotional appeals that it becomes nearly impossible to discern legitimate motivations.^[2] For this reason, the letter serves to emphasize why intolerance is counterintuitive to progressive change.