# When many conservatives misinterpret "The road to hell" proverb **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 9, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741 "2026-11-09T18:47:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/1 "2026-11-09T18:47:35Z")
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” Sure, it could be. The answer isn’t ‘Bad Intentions’, Mr. Weirdo. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/2 "2026-11-09T18:58:37Z")
I don’t think I have ever heard anyone misinterpreted it as “The road to hell is paved with bad intentions”. Do you have anyone particular in mind? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/3 "2026-11-09T19:07:25Z")
It’s happened to me sporadically, online and off. Sometimes when I’d be referring to underfunded programs that are halfheartedly implemented, then fail. Or arguing over the intentions of Politicians, it’d be stated, by them, to indicate that the answer then would be ‘erasing the entire chalkboard’, and defending DOGE and cutting off aid, without any care… I suppose they may be thinking “It’s good we gave aid at all”, but to rip it all out, without a plan of keeping it independently alive in some way…, That’s cruel. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/4 "2026-11-09T21:59:19Z")
Just for clarification: You mean that they interpret “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions as meaning” as meaning “Never start anything with good intentions, because it’s guaranteed to be evil” (instead of “Don’t rely on your good intentions to guarantee good results - keep track of whether the results are good”)? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/5 "2026-11-10T01:46:44Z")
Color me too baffled at what the OP is trying to say. Their second post made even less sense than the first. I’d like to understand what they’re thinking. But I cannot. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/6 "2026-11-10T01:52:55Z")
The same way some (most?) people use the word “do-gooder” to mean “misguided idealist” instead of “person who does good”? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/7 "2026-11-10T02:20:03Z")
Makes perfect sense to me. The old proverb says “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions”. Republicans, incorrectly, interpret this to mean “It’s bad to have good intentions, so you should instead have bad intentions”. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/8 "2026-11-10T02:59:18Z")
Yes, I more often hear conservatives using the phrase to speak out against programs to help the poor. The alternative of course is to “let the free market take care of the problem.” Well, the free market, and upper-bracket tax cuts. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/9 "2026-11-10T18:55:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Republicans, incorrectly, interpret this to mean “It’s bad to have good intentions, so you should instead have bad intentions”. That sounds more like rationalization than interpretation. You know – like how they use a bronze-age book to justify what they’ve already decided. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2026, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-many-conservatives-misinterpret-the-road-to-hell-proverb/1034741/10 "2026-11-11T22:48:30Z")
Another misinterpretation I see is of “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing” - which means “Before you trust that trustworthy-seeming guy, check him out,” and not “All trustworthy-seeming people are out to get you, so you’re better off trusting the guy who is obviously a crook.”