A professor of mine at Princeton University once surveyed his classes and asked them how they would have responded to the unjust laws in Nazi Germany or the Jim Crow South.  While history tells us that so few stood against these human rights violations, almost every student felt he would have volunteered to hide Jewish people in Nazi Germany or would have joined those marching for civil rights.  I'd predict that most of these students would have also thought themselves one of the few to stand up for Japanese-Americans who were moved to internment camps during World War II. Were these students all exceptional examples of independent thought and courage?  Of course not.  Rather, they exemplify two human realities: we have an amazing ability to overestimate our own courage and to believe we would think independently in the face of intense social pressure.  If the vast majority were actually so wise and brave, so independent of mind...(Read Full Article)