J.F. Clarke wrote, “The bravest of individuals is the one who obeys his or her conscience.”what do you think this means?

J.F.Clarke equates human beings as having the knowledge and ability to know right from wrong.  A person's inner self is cognizant of the virtues of his/her own decisions and why they make those decisions.  Society mandates that people obey social laws and moral laws based on their surroundings and the pressure of others.  To be brave means to have courage.  Courage does not always come at the risk of death but at the risk of harm or being ostracized by others. 

 If a person knows that something is  morally wrong but does nothing because of pride, need of respect, protection of family or self, that person has not allowed them selves to face the challenge of morality that he/she knows is present.  For example; during the Nazi reign in Germany many people believed what the Nazis were doing to the Jews was wrong and immoral.  It was only a few that were brave enough to stand against the laws of the government, the military, and risk their own life and that of their families for the sake of obeying their own conscience that was telling them the actions of the Nazis were wrong.