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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Whirlwind who wrote (17346)	2/25/2003 6:10:48 PM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81972

Al >the disconnect that happens when the gov abandons the tried and true vestiges of morality and then throws the baby away with the bath water The problem, of course, is the relationship between the gov and the populace and why particular people elect certain types of governments. With the popularity of the proposed Iraqi war amongst Americans in mind, I started to think about authority and why people obey it --- and then my memory was jogged. I wonder if you have ever read this book: "Obedience to Authority" by Stanley Milgram. I read the book many years ago and I must say it was one of the most significant books I have ever read. amazon.com Milgram was Professor of Psychology at Yale and did a series of experiments into why people (in his experiments, Americans) behave in a way that could lead to the mass-murders of the Holocaust. To cut a long story short, he concluded that if people are not prepared to disobey authority and substitute their own higher moral code (that is, if they have one) then the circumstances of the Holocaust will happen over and over. Read the Customer Reviews on the Amazon page. My attention was drawn to this comment (Capitals are not mine): "IN EUROPE THERE IS A WELL-WORN JOKE: THE US IS THE ONLY GREAT POWER TO RISE AND FALL WITHOUT A PERIOD OF CIVILISATION IN BETWEEN. MILGRAM'S RESEARCH SHOWS WHY. THE AVERAGE AMERICAN AS REPRESENTED IN HIS RESEARCH, HAS NO BEDROCK VALUES. FOR ALL HIS MONEY AND MATERIAL POSSESSIONS AND LAWYERS, TAX ACCOUNTANTS AND GUNS, HE IS A CULTURAL ... AND A MORAL SAVAGE. HE IS OBEDIENT ONLY TO EXTERNAL! AUTHORITY : INTERNAL CONTROLS ARE LACKING." BTW, this is the only book I have ever seen at Amazon where every reviewer gives it ***** (5 stars).