Good People Still Commit Crimes

In class Mr. Stewart was saying how people who believe that they are good are more susceptible to doing bad things, because ultimately they believe they have good values and good judgement, making them feel less guilt or culpability when committing an action that is considered wrong. This idea really intrigued me, because well I do believe I am a good person and I would never expect to do something I morally disagree with, so consequently I began questioning how that could be possible. Throughout history, humanity has experienced the malice of people, most of the time people who seem normal. Psychopaths make up only 1% of society, however there have been multiple times in history where countless groups of people have committed atrocious acts, therefore there is something else that drives what are seemingly ordinary people to commit acts of low moral standards. I think this idea has a lot to do with the theory of obedience to authority; through Milgrim’s experiment this theory is proven. People who have an overall morally correct judgement still commit crimes, especially when under pressure from an authority, this is because it is human nature, or instinct, to be obedient to those who are superior or those who are considered of higher power.