How Much Are Intentions Worth?

What do they mean to you?

Are intentions the rule by which people are judged, or should actions be more a base of judgement rather than intentions?

We all know how people can sometimes do or say one thing and mean the other. They say "No I'm impartial towards any difference in race." But when tested, they show obvious signs of racial inclination. People are sometimes lead to believe one thing and do only the direct opposite to achieve the ends. An ideal, peaceful world, to be created by destroying the defective genes that reside in "defective" people. How will you judge that? A madman has killed thousands of men, and his defense is that he is doing this for the good of the greater number of people. His role is to achieve peace, but to what means? Machiavellian thought, end justifies the means.

Is it acceptable?

Innocence until proven guilty, or is it the other way around? what is the state of being guilty? Do intentions of a person play a vital role in determining his fate and justice? But then intentions can be ambiguous and be a tool for the sly in creating deception: An innocent "I was doing it for the best of the people" can easily replace "I wanted to conquer the whole world because I am power hungry". When does consideration for a person's intention start and stop? who has the say? It seems like believing in intentions can be as dangerous as playing with fire or opening pandora's box.

I don't really have an answer to the question. I just thought it might be nice to post this into the blog. The future will supply an answer to the intention question, but the answer isn't coming anytime now.

Any takers?