As social creatures, humans tend to defer to authority and go with the flow. Both of these make for disastrous outcomes, depending on the authority deferred to and the direction of the flow.
Why did so many turn a blind eye to the Holocaust? Why did so many ignore the Holodomor? Why did no one stand against great evil?
Presently, there is debate about whether there is true Evil, as well as some absolute Truth. And if there's no foundation on which to build a case of "this is evil", then why would anyone act? Couple that with the fact that -- at least in the United States -- it is legal for the government to propagandize (re lie) the American peoples, and you have a perfect storm of stress and lies that leads to "I'm alone and there's nothing I can do in face of all that is terrible".
What is one man to do?
The one man at Tianeman Square became an emblem of standing up to tyranny. What if there had been another with him? Or ten more?
Solzhenitsyn claims that a little resistance would have completely disabled the Russian Communists.
This is the big deterrent. People have families they need to worry about. My SO was telling me to be careful about the things I talk about because it could cost me my job.
> Solzhenitsyn claims that a little resistance would have completely disabled the Russian Communists.
The Russian civil war lasted six years, was a bit more than 'a little resistance', killed ten million people, and it didn't quite achieve the desired effect.
If anything, it grew and encouraged the winners' paranoia, and put them on a permanent war footing.
Why did so many turn a blind eye to the Holocaust? Why did so many ignore the Holodomor? Why did no one stand against great evil?
Presently, there is debate about whether there is true Evil, as well as some absolute Truth. And if there's no foundation on which to build a case of "this is evil", then why would anyone act? Couple that with the fact that -- at least in the United States -- it is legal for the government to propagandize (re lie) the American peoples, and you have a perfect storm of stress and lies that leads to "I'm alone and there's nothing I can do in face of all that is terrible".
What is one man to do?
The one man at Tianeman Square became an emblem of standing up to tyranny. What if there had been another with him? Or ten more?
Solzhenitsyn claims that a little resistance would have completely disabled the Russian Communists.