Conscience II

Most of what we do in our daily life is not controlled by law. We eat, sleep, shower, go shopping, and go to work, all with little need to be aware of any laws. When, however, we get in our motor vehicle and drive onto public roads, we are immediately subject to traffic laws. These laws regulate traffic in order to make the roads as safe as possible and to facilitate the flow of traffic. Once we get out of the vehicle, we live apart from traffic laws. Most of what we think and do in our daily lives is not controlled or regulated by our conscience. For the most part, conscience ignores the way we comb our hair, what we eat for breakfast, or how many hours we sleep at night. When we are thinking about how to pay our bills, which college to attend, what message to leave on our answering machine, or whether to play scrabble or watch a video, our conscience stays in neutral. It is only when we think about moral/ethical matters that the flashing red and blue light of our conscience lights up and the alarm goes off. Like the sight of the highway patrolman parked beside the road, the flashing conscience warns us that our thinking and its potential practice is regulated by a set of shoulds or should nots. If we are thinking logically about whether our actions would be right or wrong, our conscience is an auxiliary premise that must always be reckoned with. We can go against our conscience just as we can ignore the traffic laws, but thinking about or doing either is always risky. If we ignore the law, we risk an automobile accident or a costly traffic ticket. If we override the conscience, we will be haunted by guilt, depressed by the violation of our own self-image, and possibly be subjected to the disapproval of our closest associates. The conscience--like the traffic laws, or the rules of a game--can be set aside, but this cannot be done painlessly. And once we violate our conscience–or any other regulatory agency–it is easier to do it the second time. The conscience is malleable and can be given new shape. With time enough, it can even be erased. Of course, the person with no conscience at all–the sociopath, the person with an antisocial personality–can never be a trustworthy, socially responsible, or wise thinker. If we are to be the best thinkers, we must guard our consciences.