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

screenshots of Savannah Guthrie's return to "Today"
@people/Instagram

Savannah Guthrie In Tears While Visiting With Fans On 'Today' Show Plaza In Emotional Return

On Monday morning, Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie returned to her spot on the program, filmed in Studio 1A at Rockefeller Center in New York City, for the first time since her mother, Nancy Guthrie, was abducted from her home in Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of February 1.

She acknowledged her absence by saying:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Greg Kelly; Donald Trump
Newsmax; Alex Wong/Getty Images

Newsmax Host Epically Blasted For His Hypocrisy After Defending Trump's Profane Easter Tweet

Newsmax host Greg Kelly defended President Donald Trump's use of profanity in his Easter morning threat to Iran, prompting critics to resurface one of his own past tweets calling for a ban on use of the f-word.

Trump lashed out at Iran amid growing concerns about tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage at the entrance to the Persian Gulf that carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply. Recently, Iran has struck several vessels in the area and warned ships against entering the passage, effectively halting traffic through one of the world’s most crucial energy routes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mike Lawler; Greg Abbott
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

MAGA Politicians Called Out After Falling For AI-Generated Photo Of U.S. Airmen Rescue In Iran

At least two Republican politicians are facing criticism after they fell for a clearly A.I.-generated photo of the rescue of two U.S. airmen whose fighter jet went down in Iran over the weekend.

U.S. special forces rescued the second crew member of an F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran, according to three U.S. officials cited by Axios. The crew member, a weapons systems officer, was wounded after ejecting from the aircraft Friday but was able to walk and evaded capture in the mountains for more than a day.

Keep ReadingShow less
JD and Usha Vance
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Usha Vance Just Tried To Claim That JD Is The 'Nicest, Funniest Guy'—And Yeah, Nobody's Buying It

Second Lady Usha Vance had people rolling their eyes after she claimed during a sit-down interview with Fox News' Kayleigh McEnany that people don't know her husband, Vice President JD Vance, is actually the "nicest, funniest guy."

Mrs. Vance appeared on the network as critics raised concerns about President Donald Trump’s mental and physical health following another hospital visit and in the weeks before the publication of her husband's latest book.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sterling K. Brown accepts the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Award for “Paradise” onstage during the 57th NAACP Image Awards.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET

Sterling K. Brown Just Expertly Broke Down Why Seasons Of TV Shows Nowadays Tend To Be So Short

If it feels like TV seasons are getting shorter, it’s because they are—and audiences have been side-eyeing the shift for years.

Now, Sterling K. Brown is stepping in with a clear-eyed breakdown of why fewer episodes have become the new normal.

Keep ReadingShow less