Between Intentions and Actions

by Ton Sewell

14 February 2013


The topic of the Other is quite interesting to me, I cannot deny that. There is one thing I have to ask, what if I do not want to be responsible for the Other? Do not get me wrong, I do believe that we are all responsible for each other in some way or another, but I am sure that there are times we do not wish to have a hand in whatever goes on in the life of the Other. Allow me to present the 2 sides of the coin as to how I see my responsibility for the Other.

The Other that we all know and love.

It is all well and good when we talk about how our parents have been responsible for us even when we do not have to ask. I also believe that it is safe to say that we too are responsible for our parents in a way. They send us to school, we bring home good results. They feed us, we tell them it is yummy. I am sure you're seeing what I am getting at. We are responsible for them in as much as they are responsible for us. This holds true not just to our parents, but our friends and everyone around us. This is the kind of responsibility we know to be nice and rewarding. We are proud, in a sense, to be responsible.

What about the Other we do not want to be responsible for?

Yes, I do agree that we all are responsible for the Other, but what if we do not want to be or at least not for an instance? Allow me to pose my argument with a scenario. Let us say you find yourself at a stoplight in the busy streets of Manila and you find a street kid (maybe around the age of 12?) coming to your window begging for alms. You gladly oblige by donating 5 pesos you see lying in your car's cup holder. Just as you pull away you see the kid buy a cigarette and begins smoking it. Now I have to ask, are you responsible for that kid? Are you the one who put that cigarette in his mouth by enabling him with that 5 pesos you put in his hand?

The path to hell is paved with good intentions.

This is where it is difficult to draw the line; between Intentions and Actions.