# Doing the "right" thing, when it doesn't matter, what's in it for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 10, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539 "2012-05-10T18:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/41 "2012-05-12T10:20:33Z")
I see it as a betrayal of trust as well. Those around me (be it my family, friends, work colleagues or society at large) trust me to behave like a responsible adult, with a minimum of supervision. In exchange, I get to rely (on the whole) that other people will follow the rules too, even if they are not strictly enforced. We all get a nicer world to live in (cleaner, safer, more trustworthy). I get pissed off at people who betray my trust, and I think it’s worth living up to your own expectations. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/42 "2012-05-12T21:32:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Sometimes not doing the “right thing” is simply more productive. It may seem that way, in the short run. In the long run, the “right thing” usually pays dividends. > [@](#): > > What’s the matter with cheating on a geography test in high school. You’ll get a good grade and save time by not studying. Geography is mostly useless Says the high school kid who has never been outside of his hometown. As **Nava** said, it’s unimportant until you need it. > [@](#): > > Speeding is a thrill. And a risk of injury and death. > [@](#): > > So are drugs and excessive use of alcohol. Addiction is . . . undignified. I would prefer to avoid it. > [@](#): > > And who wouldn’t like to get back at an asshole who did something shady to you, by sleeping with his girlfriend? I’m allergic to pennicillin. And a child-support lawsuit would be an expensive nuisance. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/43 "2012-05-12T22:18:05Z")
Doing the right thing is all the reason I need to do the right thing. When my mind wanders to the times I’ve done the wrong thing, I cringe and hate myself. I don’t like that feeling. Also, it’s a rush to see that smile when you go above and beyond just to make someone else’s life better, no matter how trivially. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/44 "2012-05-12T22:20:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You show your character by what you do when you don’t have to. This. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/45 "2012-05-12T22:35:20Z")
Because of who I am, it’s how I was made, I could not force myself to be otherwise. Certainly not because someone might see, or I might get caught, what someone else might think or do. As for trading away ‘what I think of myself as a person’, for a cheap thrill, that seems a fool’s bargain to me, on it’s face. Money can’t buy self respect. To know the right thing, and not do it, is like begging the God’s for a brain injury to me. I can think of few things as perilous in life, as ignoring your own intellect, for thrills or peer pressure. It always seems to end it disaster. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/46 "2012-05-13T14:24:09Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > But when it comes to less dire things, some people still want to do what’s right, no matter how low risk the situation is. An example, stopping at a stoplight at 3 am when there’s hundreds of feet of visability each way. Some people would roll through that light. Others, will stop as if it were a busy intersection at 3pm, on a hill. I remember that night. I sat there at a red light for over FOUR MINUTES at 3 in the morning. No one else was there and I was only a block from my apartment. I thought that maybe the light was broken or something so I just drove through the intersection anyway. The cop pulled me over as I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment. It sure felt like it counted that night. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/47 "2012-05-13T14:30:04Z")
**Kate** : I just couldn’t… my whole life has been about being a cop. If I’m not part of the force it’s like nothing I do means anything. **Angel** : It doesn’t. **Kate** : Doesn’t what? **Angel** : Mean anything. In the greater scheme or the big picture, nothing we do matters. There’s no grand plan, no big win. **Kate** : You seem kind of chipper about that. **Angel** : Well, I guess I kinda - worked it out. If there is no great glorious end to all this, if - nothing we do matters, - then all that matters is what we do. 'cause that’s all there is. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/48 "2012-05-13T14:30:38Z")
Practice makes perfect. ---
**Author:** ![MrDurden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ed655f/32.png) [@MrDurden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDurden)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/49 "2012-05-16T05:05:15Z")
I think the society we live in constantly confused what is ‘right’ versus what is ‘against the law’ Say your father or husband/wife, etc. is experiencing severe chest pains and trouble breathing. Is running a red light at 4am in a well lit area when you can tell no one is around morally right? Of course it is. Every minute counts to save a life. Is it against the law, yes. Far too many people in this society are ingrained to follow the law, no matter what the morality of it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/50 "2012-05-16T12:51:17Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > I remember that night. I sat there at a red light for over FOUR MINUTES at 3 in the morning. No one else was there and I was only a block from my apartment. I thought that maybe the light was broken or something so I just drove through the intersection anyway. > > The cop pulled me over as I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment. It sure felt like it counted that night. I’m sure you explained you had reason to think the light was broken - did you still get a ticket? ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/51 "2012-05-16T13:41:11Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I was going to say “What you do when nobody is looking is what we call _character_” but you had a better quote. > > I stop at signs at 3AM though because it’s a habit and I don’t want to lose that particular habit. Those are my two reasons. Mainly a habit with me. It is my habit to hold doors for old ladies and other “right” things. I’m not going to start killing people or littering just because I’m sure nobody is looking. That would be impossible to maintain over any length of time. Except for politicians and other sociopaths the things we do when people are looking are the same kinds of things we do when we are alone (except for a few personal things I won’t mention). It’s just easier that way. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539/52 "2012-05-16T14:27:31Z")
i think that if you do the right thing, then you make up one of the total of people who do the right thing and ultimately society benefits, so you benefit yourself in a roundabout way. What goes around comes around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doing-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-matter-whats-in-it-for-you/621539.md?page=2)