"The idea that we cause harm by doing what we perceive to be the right thing, that's another theme that interests me. Because most people don't intend to cause harm, they cause harm by doing the right thing - in their mind"
About this Quote
McCarthy is poking at a comforting myth modern culture loves: that harm is mainly the product of bad people with bad motives. As an actor who came up in an era of clean character arcs, he’s drawn to messier drama - the kind where the villain isn’t a mustache-twirler, just someone certain they’re being decent. The line works because it shifts the spotlight from intention (which everyone wants credit for) to impact (which everyone wants to dodge). “In their mind” is the quiet knife: it acknowledges that morality is often a private screenplay we write to justify our choices, even when the audience is bleeding.
The specific intent feels less like a moral lecture than a creative obsession. He’s naming a narrative engine: people harming others while sincerely believing they’re rescuing them, correcting them, protecting them, teaching them. That’s the plot of families, institutions, and governments - and it’s also the emotional logic behind breakups, interventions, and “hard truths.” Harm doesn’t need malice; it only needs certainty.
Subtextually, he’s admitting suspicion of righteousness. When someone is convinced they’re “doing the right thing,” they stop listening, because listening might complicate the story. That’s how good intentions become permission slips: to control, to shame, to “fix” someone who didn’t ask to be fixed.
Contextually, it lands in a moment when public life rewards moral performance and punishes ambiguity. McCarthy’s theme cuts against that: the scariest harm isn’t shouted; it’s justified.
The specific intent feels less like a moral lecture than a creative obsession. He’s naming a narrative engine: people harming others while sincerely believing they’re rescuing them, correcting them, protecting them, teaching them. That’s the plot of families, institutions, and governments - and it’s also the emotional logic behind breakups, interventions, and “hard truths.” Harm doesn’t need malice; it only needs certainty.
Subtextually, he’s admitting suspicion of righteousness. When someone is convinced they’re “doing the right thing,” they stop listening, because listening might complicate the story. That’s how good intentions become permission slips: to control, to shame, to “fix” someone who didn’t ask to be fixed.
Contextually, it lands in a moment when public life rewards moral performance and punishes ambiguity. McCarthy’s theme cuts against that: the scariest harm isn’t shouted; it’s justified.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
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