Free will is granted to all people. If one desires to turn to the path of good and be righteous, the choice is his. Should he desire to turn to the path of iniquity, the choice is his. This is the intent of the Torah's statement: "Behold, man has become like the Unique One among us, knowing good and bad" (Genesis 3:22). This teaches that humankind was made singular in the world, in that a person can, on his own initiative, objectively think about and know what is good and what is bad, and then choose to act according to his own will.
What really surprises me though is when someone knows good and bad and chooses to do evil.
I'm not saying I'm perfect by any means and I do make mistakes and accidentally hurt people at times but to deliberately and maliciously do something to hurt someone else... I guess I don't understand why people are ok with that.
Like for example if someone goes to rob a bank are they only thinking about the money they'll get or that their criminal organization will get and not about the people who will be hurt or even killed in the roberry? Do they not realize that other people feel the same way they feel and have emotions the same way they have emotions?
I feel like they must know that they're hurting other people and it just doesn't affect them emotionally at all. It's just really strange to me and I don't get it.
I feel like people who believe in God regardless of religion should have a leg up because we know we'll be judged for our actions one day... and have to answer for that... but that really shouldn't be the primary reason why we want to do good. We should want to do good even if this is the only life and there's no other one and we'll never have to answer for anything... because we shouldn't want to hurt other people, especially if this is the only life we'll ever get.
I have trouble understanding how people would lack all fear of having to answer for their behavior, and also lack all empathy for hurting people anyway.