I enjoyed the article on why disobedience is contrary to human character. The Jonestown suicides were before my time, but the study of instances of mass suicide is intriguing. How does a person gain such control over another? I also thought about disobedience being the "original sin" as the author indicates - I've never thought about Adam and Eve in the perspective the author has.

Control can be gained by finding a common bond between you and another person and exploiting it. It can be a common enemy or a common interest. Hitler, Mussilini, and Manson used common bonds to bring people together and raise them up against a common enemy.

Captain Kirk also used this control to lure officers down to the planet surface with Spock and Dr. McCoy. The officer should have realized that only Kirk, Spock, and McCoy ever return from these missions. He or she should have said forget you I'm not going to die today! But the control Kirk had made them forget about death.

I think soooo much emphasis on "good, certain " behaviors tries to squeeze studentr into a common mold. I know it is nice, easier and better (on some levels) if there are not a lot of out of control behaviors in the classroom. There needs to be a balance because a lot of teachers go overboard and stifle who students are as learners and future productive members of society all for the sake of a "well behaved classroom".