What realization does Ben Ross have about the responsibility leaders have?

Mr. Ross’s speech also neatly summarizes the morals of the story: individual freedom must always come before group unity, and while people prefer to have leaders, they must think critically about whether their leaders deserve their allegiance. As Mr. Ross reflects on The Wave, Strasser shows that the teacher has learned some lessons too. He did not control The Wave carefully enough, and underestimated the powerful human compulsion to submit to a leader.