A most distinguishing feature of humanity is having a conscience; a sense of right and wrong. Ideally, because we know what is right, we are expected to do exactly that. So we put laws and punishments to enforce good behavior. We judge and sometimes shun those who get caught going off the straight and narrow.

But no matter how good we try to be, we constantly find ourselves in a state of cognitive dissonance; a discrepancy between beliefs and behaviors. This is something that no one can avoid, even during a time of childhood innocence.

When I was young, I was fond of licking sugar. I knew that it was wrong because my mother, being unable to explain health risks and economics to a five-year-old, told me in no uncertain terms that stealing sugar would lead to bum-tickling. I always licked the sugar anyway. In so doing, I chose what I wanted over what was right.

The choice between what is right and what we want is particularly tough because it requires us to put down our stubbornness and hurt our own egos. It requires us to admit that we are wrong, that we are being selfish, and that we are in over our heads. It requires us to step back from fighting for a promotion to ask ourselves; "Am I really the better ‘man’ for the job?”

Even when we are willing to sacrifice what we want for what is right, we now find ourselves faced with a choice between what is right and what is easy.

I am groundlessly honest. I speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But if one day my four-year-old nephew asks me where babies come from, I will tell him without flinching that babies are given by a baby fairy, to women of a certain age after they have eaten unquantifiable amounts of food.

I could tell my nephew the truth. I could give him detailed explanations about the workings of male and female reproductive systems. But I don’t want to be the one to traumatize the child. The white lie is necessary to protect his innocence.

That is another reason why people can’t always do the right thing; the fact they have to choose between what is right and what is necessary. The law says that a human being is sacred and inviolable. But when that human being is a thief who has broken into your house at night, he must be violated.

But most of all, it’s hard to always do the right thing because humanity demands that we have momentary lapses of wisdom. We lose patience. We lose our tempers. We become lustful. We protect our egos.

We try to lie to ourselves and to everyone that we are doing the right thing. But the thing about having a conscience is that you can’t escape its truth. There is a certain heaviness that comes with choosing the alternative to the right thing. That heaviness is called guilt.