The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

In historical context, particularly regarding WW II, this phrase is used to emphasize that atrocities did not happen overnight but began with seemingly small, ideological steps.

The massive advancements of the early 1900’s had filled the world with optimism that we could finally solve the world’s problems. Humanity had gained enough mastery over nature that it could cure diseases at rates never before seen, feed massive numbers of people, and improve lives with electricity, automobiles, airplanes, safe water, and vaccines. Academics, philosophers, artists, and politicians were swept up in this Modernist movement. This however, lead to ideas like eugenics that sought to elevating the human race by deciding who was worth living and which people should be reduced. Social and economic policies like Socialism that ended up killing more people in 70 years than all other political systems in history.

The point is, good intentions and ‘compassion’ can often end up creating a hell on earth. The 20th century witnessed 2 World Wars and the most disastrous forms of government in the history of the world.

Portland Oregon is now re-learning that lesson. This chart is from the 2025 Drug Overdose Crisis report. Can you tell where Oregon legalized drug use and when it ended the practice? Despite offering completely free drug rehab programs to anyone, free narcan, and every possible free support system to get clean – deaths skyrocketed.

And the unpopular part: the history of putting people in jail for drug offenses clearly saved more lives than allowing free drug use in the streets. That’s a policy failure that free drug advocates continue to ignore. A policy failure that cost literally thousands of people their lives in just 5 years.

Compassion is a road to hell if there is no wisdom behind it.