Do the right thing?

My school provides each student with a planner to write down homework. The cover design of these planners differs from year to year but it always says something that's supposed to be motivational. Currently the front of my planner says "What am I supposed to do?", and then it answers its own question in significantly bigger font with "Do the right thing!" I never really noticed it said this until a couple days ago, probably an indication of how often I actually write down my homework in that planner.

Do the right thing. What a silly thing to say! How am I supposed to know what the right thing is? I mean, sometimes it's easy to discern between right and wrong. It's right to help an old lady cross the street. It's wrong to kick an old lady and steal her purse while she's trying to cross the street. But not everything is that straightforward. In fact, almost nothing is. Even decisions that seem easy always end up being more complicated then they appear.

When you are six years old, "do the right thing" is a great message. The life of a child is pretty simple and so are the decisions they are forced to make. But as you get older, the definitive line between good and bad gets fuzzy. Sometimes their is no right decision but only a more right one because no matter what you do, someone will get hurt. Sometimes hurting people is the the right decision. Sometimes every choice has the potential for right and wrong, in which case one must set off in the direction they can only hope will be positive. It seems to me the statement does not belong on a notebook meant for high school students. The front of my planner makes "do the right thing" seem so simple with its visually pleasing font, but I find myself frustrated and confused by the generalization.