When news broke last week about how the United States government funded and carried out syphilis experiments in Guatemala that had absolutely no scientific value whatsoever, the response was swift. A tone of harsh, unforgiving condemnation characterized nearly every media story, along with a punitive desire to punish those actively involved in the process. As is often true, we wished to wax indignantly about it and vent our frustration. What we might not have wanted to contemplate is our own individual role in the entire sordid mess.
