Reply To: On Tyranny Lesson 5: Remember professional ethics
I think that this question is one of the biggest things I’ve pondered when I’ve read the history of WWII. My dad fought in that war, and I think he spent the rest of his life trying to figure out just how things got the way they did. He came to the realization that many of the people he fought against were human beings just like himself, who, in other circumstances, might have gotten along just fine. But they were all indoctrinated to believe certain things about one another; made to think of those other people as something different, as inhuman, as enemies. I think that in Nazi Germany, the same thing was attempted in the entire nation; certain evil, despicable leaders realized that they needed to dehumanize their opponents so that they could more easily be eliminated; and so, they began their campaign of propaganda and indoctrination, preying on people’s fears, pumping up their feelings of injustice and greed, and a desire to feel superior; threatening them if they didn’t go along with it, as well.
How much different it would/could have been, if every professional had stuck to their professional ethics; and yet, how impossible that probably was. Human nature being what it is, there are always going to be people who want all the power and wealth, and don’t care how they get it. There are many people who take professional paths for just that reason, and not at all for the ethical side of that profession. I know people who have chosen their profession simply for the paycheck and status they’ll reap from it; they pay lip service to whatever is asked, but it has never really motivated them. I think many of those who went along with the status quo in Germany did just that as well. Others, I think, were true believers that what they were doing was for the greater good; and some just wanted to be on the winning side, no matter what. But I don’t underestimate or discount the motivation of simply being afraid, of not wanting to die, of not wanting their loved ones to suffer. Open resistors did not last long, and that was just a fact. That was a very real threat, and unless we’ve been in that situation ourselves, I don’t think any of us can say what we would or wouldn’t do. I would hope I would stick to my guns and follow my conscience, but I think it’s human nature to want to survive, so who knows what compromises I would make. What I would much prefer is that we could all be more alert and aware of our world before it ever gets into such dire straits again, doing everything in our power to avert these situations. We do need our professionals to stand up and be ethical, and all our officials, and ourselves as well.
