Dear editor,
In 1961, Yale Psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a series of social experiments intended to measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience. Milgram was trying to understand why so many Germans had behaved as they had during Hitler’s regime.
The subjects in the experiment (some were Yale students and some were New Haven residents) were told they would be applying an electric shock to other participants when a wrong answer was provided. The subjects “receiving the shock” knew what was happening and only pretended to be shocked.
The subjects applying the shocks didn’t know the people they were shocking, but could see the people behind glass and could hear their reactions when shocked. Even though these people were pounding on the glass and complaining of heart pain, clearly suffering, most subjects continued to follow Milgram’s instructions and applied even greater shocks when told, including to a level that would have been lethal.
This experiment has been repeated many times, with fairly consistent results.
The point is that many people will follow an authority figure even though what they are doing goes against their conscience or makes them feel uncomfortable. Excuses are made and rationalization is used to justify actions.
Actions like cheering on someone who wants one thing – to become a dictator, just like Putin, Hitler, Kim Jong-un, and others. People are willing to ignore the warning signs by saying “I’m not a fan of his behavior, but I do like the policies…” without remembering policies like ripping babies away from mothers at the border (can you imagine your child being taken forcefully away from you?), wanting to shoot protesters in the legs (this has been confirmed by multiple people), calling our military veterans “suckers and losers” (this has also been confirmed by multiple people).
I know in Ogle County, we all are proud of our residents who serve or have served in the military. We respect our law enforcement. I hope everyone takes the next four months to dig deep into their conscience and think – would I be one of those people who would apply a lethal shock to someone else just because I was told to even though I knew it just didn’t feel good, or right?
We just celebrated our country’s 248th birthday. Let’s make the right decision to ensure we have another 248+ years of democracy – for all of us and our future generations.
-Linda Pottinger, Oregon
