"We think of Germans and how could they have followed orders? In fact, we all follow orders most of the time," says Eyal Press, author of the book Beautiful Souls: Saying No, Breaking Ranks, and Heeding the Voice of Conscience in Dark Times.
The book depicts the journeys of ordinary people - a Swiss border guard who broke the law by letting Jewish refugees enter his country during World War Two, an Israeli soldier who refused to serve in the Occupied Territories, and a financial-industry whistleblower - who risk everything to defy authority, groupthink, and the status quo in order to do what's right.
Press talked with Reason TV's Anthony L. Fisher about the lack of a "Hollywood ending" for the brave subjects of his book, and how the notorious Milgram Experiment is not as bleak a depiction of man's tendency to blindly follow cruel orders as it is frequently understood to be.
About 5 minutes.
Produced by Anthony L. Fisher. Camera by Jim Epstein.
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