Although we are outraged by the behaviour of our MLAs, Cirtwill lists numerous examples where many law-abiding citizens are less than forthright in their own day-to-day dealings.
And undoubtedly he didn’t exhaust the list.
In light of the fickleness of our human nature, some other aspects of it comes to mind in our support for Haiti.
Canadians and their government have been very generous in the initial response to the tragedy there.
However, a recent poll suggests a majority of Canadians favour the view that future aid to the country should depend on charity alone and not on the government.
Considering the seriousness and the extent of the devastation in Haiti, one wonders whether charity alone will be sufficient to help the Haitian people recover.
In this regard, two sayings depicting human nature come to mind.
One is, “Out of sight, out of mind.” Once the news coverage ends, will people soon forget the desperate need there?
The second saying that could be applicable here is, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Although we intend to do good, too often we don’t follow through.
If we really care about the recovery of the Haitian people (and we should), our government should continue with as much assistance as it can provide.
If the government does this with our blessing, it will be a surer form of charity and we would avoid our hypocrite aspect (which Cirtwill cites) by which we claim to want to help but do nothing.
I suspect that my suggestion is not an outcome Cirtwill was alluding to, but sometimes taking precautions against our human shortcomings is more beneficial than trying to change them.
Leo Doyle
North Sydney