Pondering Right and Wrong

Throughout my life I have played many different roles, some by chance, and others by choice.  By chance–an uncle, brother, son, grandson, Catholic and a male.  By choice–an atheist, father, boyfriend, student, methamphetamine addict, political junkie and friend.  What fascinates me is seeing people-regardless of religion, social upbringing or childhood environment-make moral decisions and trying to determine what caused them to make that specific decision.  When one person chooses to evaluate every step they take based upon how it will not only affect them but how it will affect those around them now and into the future; what makes another person in the same situation choose to be concerned with the pleasure or displeasure of the self in the present, while wholly ignoring the future ramifications of that decision?

For now, lets ignore the fact that some people, for one reason or another, do not possess a fully-functional conscience.  Personally, I have had a tremendous amount of difficulty with impulse control throughout my life.  The one thing that keeps me on track and constantly working to improve as a person is the feeling that I get when I do commit an act that is immoral, unethical, or is just a bad idea.  Although it isn’t where I’m trying to go with this discussion, that would be my conscience.  Anyway, I hear that voice and I listen to it–most of the time.  Sometimes I only hear it long after a decision has been made, other times it is screaming in my ear doing its damnedest to persuade me to make the “right” decision.  Why do I listen to it at times and ignore it at others?  The only thing that I can think of is to chalk it up under selfishness…

But that is where I feel things get complicated.  If my conscience tells me to do the right thing, and I know good from evil, why wouldn’t I always choose to do the right thing, as it would save me the pain of dealing with my conscience later on?  Wouldn’t the truly selfish, moral person always “do the right thing?” 

I feel that the older I get, the more likely I am to make that “right” decision.  Where are the decision making impulses derived from?  Has evolution forced us as people to make rash decisions that may be detrimental to ourselves in the future?  As a species, do we truly have certain wires crossed that make it impossible to move entirely from an animalistic existence to one of logic and problem-solving?

I do not follow the God and Devil argument of any religion; for the sake of this argument, what in human nature forces one to make a bad decision?