Law Abiding Citizen
No one’s getting
A Nobel prize
For being the first
To lift their hand
From the buzzer
Letting all their
Shackled
Brethren run free
They will be captured
Cuffed
Shot down like a dog
That doesn’t mean
It won’t be
A victory
To be celebrated
Held aloft
K.B. Silver
American writer
People often forget that doing something righteous or noble doesn’t preclude you from suffering painful or negative consequences. They sometimes shrink back at the first sign of punishment. Usually, to accomplish something of moral value, there will be at least a minimum of painful or discouraging circumstances along the way. Or else that item would already be checked off the proverbial to-do list. That doesn’t make the goal less worthy or necessary for us to strive towards.
The poem itself references the Milgram Experiment, an ethically questionable study done at Yale University in 1963 that shed some light on how people react to authority. I am fascinated by this study as someone who has repeatedly proved bad at following poorly explained or obviously hurtful directions but extremely good at carrying out well-explained and obviously helpful directions. I have often wondered if I could be tricked into a situation such as this if presented with enough evidence it was for another person’s good. Unfortunately, science says yes, I can, and you can too.
