It Is Easy To Ignore Responsibility When

It Is Not So Much The Kind Of Person A Man Is As The Kind Of Situation In Which He Finds Himself That Determines How He Will Act.

A Substantial Proportion Of People Do What They Are Told To Do, Irrespective Of The Content Of The Act, And Without Pangs Of Conscience, So Long As They Perceive That The Command Comes From A Legitimate Authority.

It Is Easy To Ignore Responsibility When One Is Only An Intermediate Link In A Chain Of Action.

Ordinary People, Simply Doing Their Jobs, And Without Any Particular Hostility On Their Part, Can Become Agents In A Terrible Destructive Process. Moreover, Even When The Destructive Effects Of Their Work Become Patently Clear, And They Are Asked To Carry Out Actions Incompatible With Fundamental Standards Of Morality, Relatively Few People Have The Resources Needed To Resist Authority.

The Soldier Does Not Wish To Appear A Coward, Disloyal, Or Un-american. The Situation Has Been So Defined That He Can See Himself As Patriotic, Courageous, And Manly Only Through Compliance.