Gradients

There are those who are incapable of discerning right from wrong, who cannot make moral decisions, who see no black, no white, no shades of grey. Then there are those who can make such distinctions, but either through faulty analysis/calculus or purposeful rejection of right, choose wrong. But are there also those who know right and wrong, want to do right but for some reason fail?  Am I too strong-willed?  Or have I made so many bad decisions that I am morally bankrupt, or have damaged my conscience so to render it irreparable?

I also wonder about the degrees of reality, the separation between fantasy and fact.  Some of my “fantasies” are not healthy nor are they positive.  For example, I wonder how well off my family would be in my absence.  But I recognize the reality that my absence — both its fact and the means by which it becomes fact — would probably be more harmful to them than the status quo. 

But why doesn’t this same sort of reality check keep me off the internet and prevent me from jeopardizing my family’s livelihood?  I know that my behavior could cause me to lose my job.  Why don’t I stop?

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