LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
THE ILLUSION OF BEING GOOD
Most of the people I know are genuine and good people. How do I know this? I know this because people like to talk about what they want,
what they hope to do, and why they do what they do. Simply put, we often like to talk about our intentions. Not only that, we want to be judged
by our good intentions. Don’t you ever wonder why it’s so difficult for us to apologize for our mistakes when we try so hard to do well, let alone
cause no harm? This is because when we mess up, we want our intentions to count for more than the results of our words and actions. Yet,
judging based on most people’s intentions, I can confidently say that most of the people I know have good in their hearts and mean well. After
all, how often do you hear someone say that they go to school so that they can one day make millions of dollars while exploiting third world
countries? Or that they want to become a doctor so that they can profit off the sick? Or become a politician so that they can someday run for
office and acquire power and wealth rather than listening to the concerns of the public? Or even that the only reason they do nice things for
others is so that others can return the favor?
There are many reasons why people don’t say these things, but the point is that for many, these sentiments don’t reflect their true intentions.
No, the people I know want to make money so that they can use it for good, become doctors so that they can heal the sick, become politicians
so that they can change this country for the better, and be kind to one another because it’s the right thing to do. Money, power, influence, and
even a good reputation are byproducts, secondary to good intents, as they should be, right? I’d like to make the distinction that intentions are
not the same as actions, consequences, or experiences. This means that just because you have the heart to do good, it doesn’t necessarily
mean you have actually accomplished good or that you get a free pass when you’ve mistakenly done more harm. We encounter these scenarios
every day, whether through advice or rules from parents, expressed concerns or discouragements from friends, or belittlements or warnings from
teachers or mentors. We’ve all been discouraged, unsupported, or even stopped from following through with our own plans or goals because
of the people around us and their intents to protect us, guide us, or teach us from their experiences. And it’s usually because they love us.
A recent example in which good intentions did not follow through was the #CancelColbert incident. On March 26, 2014, Colbert aired a segment
on Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s attempts to placate Native Americans by creating a foundation to help them, rather than actually
doing anything to change the n