Lately I’ve been thinking about how small the difference between a good person and a bad person really is.
People like to imagine that good and evil are far apart, I don’t think they are, sometimes they’re separated by a single decision.
Most bad decisions don’t feel evil while you’re making them. Your mind gives you reasons, it tells you that you’re justified, that they deserve it, that nobody will know, that it isn’t a big deal, and for a moment both sides sound right.
That’s the part that scares me.
There are moments where the choice feels almost fifty-fifty, take something or leave it, hurt someone or walk away, tell the truth or lie. It doesn’t feel like a test of character when you’re inside it, it feels like a fight in your own head, and you don’t know which side of you wins until it’s over.
I think people become dangerous when they believe they’re incapable of doing wrong. The people I trust most are the ones who know they could cross the line and choose not to.
Maybe being good isn’t purity, maybe it’s just recognizing the line when you see it and refusing to step over it. I hope I keep recognizing it.