The Corollary of Guilt

           When we think of guilt most of us probably think of something undesirable. While this is often true, we should realize that guilt and guilt feelings can also be desirable. If we never became aware of ontological guilt, for example, we might never see the need for a Savior. If we never had any guilt feelings we might be more inclined to act in ways which would harm other people and harm ourselves. Guilt and guilt feelings, therefore, are not always bad. Sometimes they are constructive and helpful.

           Still, guilt feelings often influence us adversely — especially when we rationalize guilt and pretend it does not exist. We do this when we make up excuses to explain our guilt away: “Of course I cheated on my income tax!” We say to ourselves, “but everybody does it.” Or, “certainly I went over the speed limit but there weren’t any other cars around and they probably expect most people to do a little over the posted speed anyhow.” Equally common is the tendency to pass the buck by blaming someone else for our guilt-producing behavior. Adam blamed Eve who in turn blamed the serpent. Hitler blamed the Jews for his difficulties and at the end of his life wrote: “It is true that neither I nor anybody else in Germany wanted war in 1939. It was wanted and provoked exclusively by those international politicians who either came of Jewish stock or worked for Jewish interests. After all my efforts toward disarmament, posterity cannot place the responsibility for this war on me.” This also happens when we blame our friends for their bad influence on us or we deny we are responsible for our actions since so much behavior is determined by our past experiences, or the influence of our parents. (More and more people, it seems, are claiming they cannot be held responsible for their actions since they are the helpless victims of unhealthy childhood experiences.)