Good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.
—Albert Camus
That’s another version of the old saying,
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
That was certainly true of the Bush administration overthrowing Saddam and trying to spread democracy in the Middle East. Somehow saying, “We meant well,” isn’t much comfort.
Hopefully the good-hearted people trying to help the refugees will have more success.
December 12, 2015
The quotes are true. I stopped by last evening and read your prior post — I honestly don’t know what to think — I just am grateful I’m not the one that has to decide…
that is my feeling, about decisions… whatever an authority does, there are always going to be questions on various levels all through the communities involved or not.
I agree, I’m glad I’m not in charge!
I work with someone who always has good intentions.
People are always defending her actions by saying that “she meant well”.
I personally have no patience where she is concerned. I think that someone could actually suffer harm in her care.
I have made my opinion known and refuse to let her around my boarders or my own pets. I know that she’s not purposely being this way. Instead she’s just unable to stay focused and observant.
I know that you had politics more in mind here but…. Well, you know me!
😉
No, I wasn’t thinking just of politics. There are all sorts of ways we can do harm in spite of our good intentions. It happens all too often.
Good intentions need study. The first question should be “good for who?” If that question is answered truthfully the questions that follow can lead to effective decision making. Failing which, we will keep getting into the same kinds of messes over and over again.
Unfortunately, people seldom agree on what the “truth” is. Notice how many people in the U.S. don’t believe global warming is either (1) not a problem or else is (2) not caused by human activity.
I think there is no doubt that taking in refugees is a good-hearted move. Usually, countries who participate benefit by gaining new citizens who strive to succeed and be productive. Canada has a history of doing this, and we have always been rewarded, ten-fold!
This 2013 article says well-educated immigrants don’t do as well in Canada as in the U.S. or the U.K. : http://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/land-of-misfortune/ It’s not just letting people in, it’s making sure they can find jobs that will give them a decent life. I don’t know what the situation is now, the article implies some changes were going to be made.
On the other hand, I’ve read old articles that say Canada needs a lot more immigrants, presumably for other jobs. Canada has a relatively low population density, so it’s different from a lot of countries. Presumably the Syrians you’re taking in will do just fine.
We now have a new government and a new direction. The conservative government made a mess of a lot of things, including immigration. We are ever hopeful that this wave of immigrants will prosper!
Fingers crossed!
some migrants of any persuasion fit in a quiet way and get on with their lives but there are always a few bad eggs who cause noise…
various inhouse communities have “good intentions” towards those migrants where others either “don’t care” or they “wish the policy of migration would be abandoned”
and then sometimes, we never know the circumstances for whatever reason – which can apply through many lives whether they migrated or not to a country of their choice, or not even there choice….
The sad thing here is a lot of Muslim immigrants did their best to fit in and thought they were Americans, but now they’re scared: Middle Eastern by birth, American by choice and terrified of Trump.