BUT I WAS JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 468

I read an article in the May 13-19, 2026 edition of The Epoch Times written by Jon Miltimore entitled “The Science of Manipulation: Why Good People Follow Orders to do Bad Things” which discussed the 1961 Milgram Experiment and addressed many questions I have had for years in that area. So I wanted to pass along to our 2 Paragraphs Family what that experiment was and what it showed. The researcher had one person (the “subject”) administer electric shocks to another person (“the learner”) ranging from 15 to 450 volts. And then a third person in a lab coat (“the authority figure”) oversaw what was going on. However, both the learner and the authority figure were actors, and no actual shocks were administered, even though the learner would scream in agony, beg them to stop and eventually fall silent. The purpose of the experiment was to see how far the subjects would go with this cruelty as long as the authority figure continued to tell them to keep it up.

So what did we learn from this experiment? We saw how far ordinary people would go to do bad things to other people as long as an authority figure continued to instruct them to do so. (Think of the many people who carried out Hitler’s orders in the Nazi regime.) As such, one of the most potent sources of evil can be simple obedience to authority! As British novelist and chemist Charles Percy Snow put it: “When you think of the long and gloomy history of man you will see more hideous crimes have been committed in the name of obedience than have ever been committed in the name of rebellion.” In addition, the future Pope Benedict XVI observed that “Justice is trampled underfoot by weakness, cowardice and fear of the diktat of the ruling mindset. The quiet voice of conscience is drowned out by the cries of the crowd. Evil draws its power from indecision and concern for what other people think.” The article concludes with this timeless observation which should/must guide us all: “For this reason, we should not just be wary of the concentration of power, but also work to cultivate in individuals virtues that make resistance to authority possible: courage, prudence, and fortitude.” I hope we all agree with that, which will make the excuse “But I was just following orders” unpersuasive!

(Did you hear? When one flamingo was standing on only one foot while he was weighing himself his companion flamingo told him that he had tried that, and it didn’t work.)