Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Greatest Examples Of Necessary Evil

The Greatest Examples Of Necessary Evil
woman in yellow sweater holding red and white box
Photo by Dollar Gill on Unsplash

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 GIFGiphy

Kicking 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 & OrderGiphy

A 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 & DragonsGiphy

It 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.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Dr. Sandra Lee
TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle/YouTube

'Dr. Pimple Popper' Star Reveals She Suffered Stroke While Filming Series: 'I Had A Part Of My Brain That Died'

It's already scary to witness a younger person go through a life-changing medical diagnosis, but it's especially jarring to see a medical professional, who presumably knows best about how to care for themselves, go through the same.

Sandra Lee, known as "Dr. Pimple Popper" on Lifetime, is well-known for her bedside manner, medical knowledge and ability to share her knowledge in an accessible way, and, of course, her unique approach to dermatological care.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rob Schneider; Elizabeth Banks
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images; Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Rob Schneider Dragged For Criticizing Elizabeth Banks' 'Dangerous Rhetoric' After She Called Out White Female Trump Voters

After actor and filmmaker Elizabeth Banks—who played Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games—called out white women who voted for President Donald Trump, MAGA actor Rob Schneider lashed out against what he referred to as her "dangerous rhetoric."

Those who've read the book and seen the film adaptation of The Hunger Games know that Trinket—known for joyfully announcing, "Happy Hunger Games and the odds may be ever in your favor!"—is a mistress of propaganda for a hostile government that forces teenagers to fight to the death every year to intimidate critics and keep society's poorest and most vulnerable in line. Trinket eventually embraces the rebellion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kid Rock
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Offering Massive Discount To His MAGA Festival Due To Abysmal Ticket Sales

Musician Kid Rock has hitched his wagon to president Donald Trump for quite some time now, and it seems he too is in the "find out" stage of that particularly exercise in FAFO.

It seems that when the president you form your entire personality around craters to a catastrophic approval rating even for him, your ship starts to sink too.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dan Driscoll; Tammy Duckworth
Cheriss May/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Army Secretary Sparks Outrage After Shutting Down Army Social Media Accounts For Honoring Tammy Duckworth's Military Service

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is facing heavy criticism after he ordered that all accounts associated with the Army unit "Soldier for Life" (SFL) be shut down after the unit shared a post on social media celebrating Illinois Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth's military service.

Duckworth is a double amputee who lost both of her legs in combat in 2004 when her Black Hawk helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Iraqi insurgents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tom Homan; Pope Leo XIV
Fox News; Vatican Media/Vatican Pool - Corbis/Getty Images

Trump's Border Czar Ripped For Hypocrisy After Telling Pope Leo To 'Stay Out Of Politics'

President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan was called out for hypocrisy after telling Pope Leo XIV to "stay out of politics" after he clashed with Trump over the widely unpopular war in Iran.

Last week, Pope Leo criticized the war and called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."

Keep ReadingShow less