Every society needs a bad conscience.
But no one wants to be that bad conscience.
A bad conscience can be understood as a person or persons who are courageous enough to speak the truth at a time when a majority of the people prefer to live in shameful silence.
A good historical example of this was the White Rose in Germany during WWII.
Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans, along with a handful of friends, were members of a group that published and distributed leaflets warning their fellow Germans to stop supporting Hitler.
There were ample opportunities to speak out prior to 1939 when Hitler lacked popular support and sufficient political and military power.
But most people chose not to.
When the White Rose began publishing their pamphlets, it was no longer safe to speak openly against the policies of the Third Reich.
Sophie and Hans Scholl were caught distributing anti-Nazi pamphlets at the University of Munich in 1943.
Within a matter of days, they and their friend Christoph Probst were tried and executed as traitors.
Today, the courage and integrity of the members of the White Rose are widely celebrated as examples of the finest German individuals of their generation.
There will always be a need for those who are willing to be a bad conscience.
In every conflict throughout history, there comes a moment when each of us must either choose to ignore what is happening, to join in, or to speak out regardless of the cost.
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