Why Do We Bother?

There are certain sectors of the world which have never been stable. Take the Middle East, for example. Or how about the Caribbean. South and Central America. South-East Asia. I don't pretend to know why these places are the dumping ground for suffering and divisiveness in the world, but they certainly seem to be according to any definition I can name.

I know many people believe it is their sacred duty to bring peace and stability to these and other places, but why do we bother? This isn't really a question of Iraq or Mid-East Peace or anything like that. It's just a question of looking at what people in those regions have had to put up with. Why should they want us to bother?

I'm not saying that we don't intend to do good. Sometimes we (and here and elsewhere I'm using we to mean those people who aren't currently living in the region or regions in question) really do mean well. But if people on the inside don't want things to change, they probably won't.

And why should people want things to change? Every change seems to make things worse. Regardless of motivation, the unknown changers are likely to be mistrusted when every other bringer of change in the past either has led to a worse situation or has been unable to effectively change the situation at all. Better the devil you know, as the saying goes.

We should definitely help people. No question about that. But if interfering with their lives causes them more problems, it's hard to see how we can help them. If the only way to help is to make them more miserable, even in the short term, many people who have lived through the situation are likely to be skeptical. Why should they believe anything?

It is not always the case that change from within is effective either. People have risen up to create change, only to elect a despot or be brutally quashed. Sometimes change is dangerous to everyone, not just the people who enjoy the status quo.

I don't know exactly where I'm going with this. But it strikes me more and more that some places are just fated to be unpleasant, and the best way to effect change is to leave those places.