There are several things we look back in history which instantly make us shudder.
Wars, acts of terrorism, shootings.
We can even say the same of our own lives, as we look back on family illnesses, break-ups or terrifying travel experiences.
It's easy to say that these are events or memories which we wish had never happened.
However, if we stop and reflect, we might realize that all of the above, and more, were important stepping stones in our lives and the course of history.
As they were all valuable learning experiences which shaped our lives, and the world, for the better.
A "necessary evil", if you will.
Redditor opiate_user was curious to hear what people considered the most important instances of necessary evils, leading them to ask:
"What is a great example of a necessary evil?"
A Natural Warning Sign
"The ability for the human body to feel pain."
"As exploitable as it is, without this ability to feel pain the life expectancy would go way down because people often wouldn't realize something was wrong with their body until it was too late to do anything about it."
"Pain is the body's natural defense mechanism to protect itself against further injury."- Music_Girl2000
Even If You Still Want More Chips
"That air in you bag of chips stops the chips from getting crushed on delivery."
"We all wish there could just be more chips but you need that air."- ArminTanz
Hungry Full House GIFGiphyKicking Cancer In The Butt...
"Chemotherapy."- Qazax1337
Everyone Needs To Be Served A Slice Of Humble Pie...
"If you don't experience sitting down and being humbled, you're all the more likely to not only let success go to your head but to take things for granted."- ImaginaryCharges
Everyone Deserves The Right To A Fair Trial
"A lawyer defending an alleged murderer etc."- qqqrrrs_
Episode 16 Reaction GIF by Law & OrderGiphyA Little Perspective Goes A Long Way
"If we manage not to engage in a nuclear war, we will probably look back on the century or centuries we had them pointed at each other as being the single most important factor in not engaging in massive warfare every decade."
"People forget that the firebombing of Tokyo killed more people than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined, and it was nothing compared to Dresden, and that was comparable to Nanjing, which was nothing compared to the Holocaust, which was nothing compared to the Eastern front, in which an estimated 30 million people died."
"Before that, we had WW1, which setup the political and economic stage for WW2."
"Before WW1, we had various wars of colonialism that setup the imperial rivalries from Europe."
"After WW2, the entire world seemed to be teetering on the edge of another global conflict every decade that was only truly staved off by the possibility that the entire human race would be annihilated if such an event occurred."
"People on every continent have engaged in brutal wars ever since, but the specter of global war and the potential for nuclear holocaust has tempered these conflicts immensely."
"If we manage to outgrow the need to be pointing a gun at each other's heads, our great-great grandchildren might think of us as having been silly, but they should have an appreciation that their peace is because we came close to ending it all."-tacit_urn
Let It Rip...
"Farting, it stinks and it's embarrassing but we'd be in constant agony without it."- OutlawCountryFan
Evil In The Classic Sense...
"D&D villains."
"Hard to run a decent campaign without one or two of them."
"I used to run a home game with close friends and family so luckily I never had that problem player or a murder hobo party but never say never."- Clear-Owl-378
Role Playing Magic GIF by Dungeons & DragonsGiphyIt Takes Being Sad To Realize How Happy You Are
"Sadness."
"You can't be happy all the time."
"It isn't healthy."
"You have to take the good with the bad."
"You learn to cope and move on from it."- PracticalyWorker
Literal Necessary Evil
"I don’t know, but in the 'Engineer Trilogy', a great low fantasy series in a weird renaissance/medieval mashup world, they call their war department the Department of Necessary Evil."
"Which I always loved."- malenkydroog
There are countless things we find ourselves going to great efforts to avoid, or wish would never happen.
Hard as these things may be to endure, however, they must happen nonetheless for progress to be made.
