“Scout,” said Atticus, “when summer comes you’ll have to keep your head about far worse things…it’s not fair for you and Jem, I know that, but sometimes we have to make the best of things, and the way we conduct ourselves when the chips are down – well, all I can say is, when you and Jem are grown, maybe you’ll look back on this with some compassion and some feeling that I didn’t let you down. This case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience – Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man.”
– Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 11. When Scout worries about the reactions of people in Maycomb to her father’s taking on the defense of Tom Robinson, he reassures her. He knows that many white folks who think badly of the black residents disapprove of his decision. But he wants her to know that doing the right thing is more important in this case.