No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

There was a report on Marketplace about Madonna and other celebrities drawing attention to Malawi, a small African nation. They visit, adopt children, generally drawing the media with them. Anyway, the question was raised about whether or not their good deeds are overshadowed by the promotion.

I recalled one of my favorite arguments in a college philosophy class where we discussed Mother Theresa: she worked tirelessly with the poor, but as part of the Catholic doctrine it is work such as hers that gains one access to Heaven. The discussion provoked the class to argue the worth of good deeds if ultimately the good deeds make a person feel better, rewards them, etc. "Friends" dealt with the topic in an episode, to VERY comedic results.

I realized that regardless of the person's intent, any good work that is done benefits humankind. The fact that the charity fails on a personal, ethical perspective is true, but should not detract form the work itself.

So, while they my shamelessly promote themselves, Madonna, Ewen McGregor, Angelina Jolie at least do good by drawing attention to a situation that would otherwise be noticed by only a select few.