Reasons and Intent
There’s a reason behind every action. Sometimes the reason can seem stupid, crazy, and convoluted, and sometimes the reason makes perfect sense, but there is a reason for every action. Now, it is usually easy to divide actions into categories of good and bad. Helping someone is good, hurting someone is bad, fulfilling responsibilities is good, slacking off is bad (sorry Spruiell and Coleman), and so on. As a society, we tend to define whether a person is good or bad by his or her actions. People such as Mother Teresa who devote themselves selflessly to others, or people such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who show courage even in the darkest times are considered good. Selfish dictators and tyrants, greedy corporate executives who steal from their workers, are obviously considered bad. Immorality and evil is relatively easy to find. Evil actions tend to be eye-openers, and are easily recognizable. So, for a minute, let’s ignore them.
This entry today deals with actions that accomplish good. These actions are almost always well received, but the cynics in the world we live in often beg the question,
“Why?”
They question the reasons behind every good action. When it comes to evil, the reasons are obvious-the committer of these actions is evil himself. When it comes to doing good, society today is quick to question reasons. It is as if no one wants to believe that a person would be moral without some incentive, such as a fear of their fate after death, or with some material incentive behind the action. Yet, the reason that this is the case in society is because often enough, good actions are not committed with wholly pure intent. What this has led to is a society in which many people fear doing good as much as they fear doing evil. It is much simpler to sit back and observe, than it is to thrust oneself into a spotlight and have to account for one’s actions-whether they be good or bad.
My question for society is: does it matter? If I was to save the life of a drowning girl because I wanted to get myself a date, would her parents say, “Oh, well throw her back in then, you’re reasons are terrible.” Absolutely not. For a real life example, I give you Rosa Parks. A lot of cynics say that she was just tired one day and decided to be a bitch. I don’t think so, but it’s possible. In the end, however, it doesn’t even matter. What she did led to a huge victory in the cases of civil rights, and her actions made her a hero. This is precisely my point. It is not reasons, but actions, that make a person great.
A more real life example would be found in my personal life recently. A friend of mine thought that I was interested in his ex-girlfriend, which was not the case. Regardless, he told me that he would be okay with it if I was. Now, I know, just because I know the guy, that he was honestly choosing his friend’s happiness over his. But he could have just as easily been just saying that to get some sort of sympathy, or for some other reason. It really doesn’t matter; the effect is the same.
Now, for honesty’s sake, I want to stress that I believe that your actions should reflect your intentions. I don’t like, and I disapprove of people taking the credit for being a saint when their intent was more ignoble. I don’t want readers of this article to feel that I support people doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. I am simply saying that as a society, we shouldn’t question motives behind moral action so often-not because the questions aren’t warranted, but because it simply does not matter.
There is a lot of evil in the world, and what the world needs is good to counter it. Because of this, we cannot undermine so much of the good that is done in the world by questioning every reason behind every good action. Morality and heroism is always welcome.
This entry today deals with actions that accomplish good. These actions are almost always well received, but the cynics in the world we live in often beg the question,
“Why?”
They question the reasons behind every good action. When it comes to evil, the reasons are obvious-the committer of these actions is evil himself. When it comes to doing good, society today is quick to question reasons. It is as if no one wants to believe that a person would be moral without some incentive, such as a fear of their fate after death, or with some material incentive behind the action. Yet, the reason that this is the case in society is because often enough, good actions are not committed with wholly pure intent. What this has led to is a society in which many people fear doing good as much as they fear doing evil. It is much simpler to sit back and observe, than it is to thrust oneself into a spotlight and have to account for one’s actions-whether they be good or bad.
My question for society is: does it matter? If I was to save the life of a drowning girl because I wanted to get myself a date, would her parents say, “Oh, well throw her back in then, you’re reasons are terrible.” Absolutely not. For a real life example, I give you Rosa Parks. A lot of cynics say that she was just tired one day and decided to be a bitch. I don’t think so, but it’s possible. In the end, however, it doesn’t even matter. What she did led to a huge victory in the cases of civil rights, and her actions made her a hero. This is precisely my point. It is not reasons, but actions, that make a person great.
A more real life example would be found in my personal life recently. A friend of mine thought that I was interested in his ex-girlfriend, which was not the case. Regardless, he told me that he would be okay with it if I was. Now, I know, just because I know the guy, that he was honestly choosing his friend’s happiness over his. But he could have just as easily been just saying that to get some sort of sympathy, or for some other reason. It really doesn’t matter; the effect is the same.
Now, for honesty’s sake, I want to stress that I believe that your actions should reflect your intentions. I don’t like, and I disapprove of people taking the credit for being a saint when their intent was more ignoble. I don’t want readers of this article to feel that I support people doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. I am simply saying that as a society, we shouldn’t question motives behind moral action so often-not because the questions aren’t warranted, but because it simply does not matter.
There is a lot of evil in the world, and what the world needs is good to counter it. Because of this, we cannot undermine so much of the good that is done in the world by questioning every reason behind every good action. Morality and heroism is always welcome.