'What happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.' ' And that, I believe, is what true redemption is, Amir jan, when guilt leads to good.' ( 'The Kite Runner' by K. Hosseini) - Are good intentions enough to make amends for wrongdoing?
Agnieszka Serafin - 11.10.2018 @ 17:39
Can good intentions justify the means?
by Emelie Königsson, VKS Växjö/Sweden
Imagine that you have a daughter. Your child is very sick, and the sickness is fatal. If you cannot get hold of medicine in a short period of time your daughter will pass away. As a parent, that is the worst thing that could possibly ever happen. But you don’t have any money, the last dollars this month went straight to feeding your family. Right now you have two options, either let your daughter die, or steal medicine from the pharmacy. You don’t want your daughter to die, but still you are aware of the fact that it’s wrong to steal. What would you do? Would it be more acceptable to steal when you’re doing it to save someone's life?
I believe it’s about morals, what a person is capable to do - to see what is right or wrong. It is a very difficult topic to process, since it’s very complex and subjective. But no matter what you decide to do, it’s going to affect someone negatively. If you steal the medicine the pharmacy will lose something they have paid for, and therefore lose money. What if the owner of this shop is old, poor and can barely pay the rent this month? He certainly doesn’t have the economy for losing medicines that give him his livelihood every month. But if you don’t do it, your daughter will pass away.
I think that it’s more understandable if you are doing something morally wrong to save someone you love, but it still affects other people and could put them in the same position you had with your daughter. This is a topic that can’t be put in a box, and no matter how much you look into it you still won’t be any wiser. I don’t think that good intentions justify bad actions, and it certainly would not be accepted when facing a court. But still, you would never let your daughter die. Would you?
Brené Brown (www.onbeing.org)
Doing something you know is wrong is never right, but there are many different aspects that weigh in. I believe that you have to see for yourself, and make a decision if your good intentions would justify what you have done. I cannot tell you whether it’s right or wrong, but if you have good intentions you presumably have a good heart. That is a valuable quality that matters in every single thing we do in life.
Emelie Königsson - 16.11.2018 @ 11:42
This is a very difficult topic. In my opinion there aren’t such parents who are able to see their child’s misery and most of all they are disposed to steal because one of the worst things in life is when your child dies sooner than you. Perhaps a lot of people dismiss such things because they think this situation can’t happen with them, but in life everything is possible. I think it’s hard to find a really right answer for this question.
Dorina Farkas - 16.12.2018 @ 14:19
Your article reminded me of a quote from David Levithan's "Every Day":
If there was no one else involved, it would be an easy decision. But isn't that always the case? And there is always someone else involved.
I agree with you that this is a grey area. In my opinion, the act of stealing in this case would be neither right or wrong. It's something completely different.
Still, the woman should look for another solution. I believe, truly believe, that there is always another way out, one that you can follow without hurting anyone. You just have to have the willpower to really search for it.
Anja Leitner - 25.12.2018 @ 18:57
Hi Emelie,
At the beginning I just want to say that I really liked your article. You touched upon a difficult topic and you did it in a way that is very interesting and makes us think.
I agree with you that doing something you know is wrong, will never be good and probably you shouldn’t be doing this. It’s hard to say if intentions justify the means. I think they do not, but maybe if I was in a difficult situation I would change my mind. I also agree that our wrong activities affect other people. In this example that you gave us it was really hard to decide what to do, because if we love someone we want to save him from death no matter what. I don’t know if in that case we should fight for someone we care about and do something wrong or just let life go on and leave everything to fate so as not to disturb someone else’s life. But in some hard moments, like for example in this one you showed to us, I think it’s easier to do something morally bad than accept some things like watching your child die. So I cant tell what would be good or wrong in that situation, but maybe someday I’ll find the answer to this question and have something more to say about it.
Monika Pociecha - 05.01.2019 @ 11:38
This is indeed a very difficult topic. In my eyes this also touches the question of weighing one life against others.
Let`s say there is a country submitted to a dictatorship, the people are suffering. The dictator gives an ultimatum, threatening to attack neighbouring countries if the conditions aren`t fulfilled. Those neighbouring countries decide to work together to kill the dictator and establish a new government. A few years later, the country is still ruled by tyranny, the people are suffering even more than they did before and are also grudging against the countries that "freed" them, the old dictator has now become a martyr, a saint. Basically, the country went from bad to worse and many people are wishing for a war to break out. But also people that were suffering before are now able to lead a decent life. The neighbouring countries are flourishing again, and the change of government is seen as something positive in the eyes of the whole rest of thew world.
Now, was the killing of the previous ruler worth it?
Mirjam Kronthaler - 31.01.2019 @ 17:36