Blogocentric Formulations

Necessary Evils & The Never-Ending Day

PROMPT: Discuss necessary evils. Do you believe any exist? What are they?

I think necessary evils exist all around us. Without getting too far into a philosophical debate and for the sake of this argument, let's define evil as doing something that you know is wrong. And, in that context, I think there are necessary evils all around us. Lying, for example, is something I know is wrong, but I absolutely lie to people for a variety of reasons and in a variety of capacities; everything from little white lies to spare someone's feelings, to great big lies of omission to avoid unpleasant confrontations. Similarly, I think we can all agree that murdering someone is pretty much wrong ... but I definitely think there are situations where the taking of a life is justified if it means preserving the lives of others, like shooting a bomber before he can set off his ordnance, or assassinating a genocidal dictator to prevent further mass murder.

In a world as filled with gray - and straight-up black if we're being perfectly honest - evil is going to exist. And where evil exists, it seems to me a given that people will be put in a position of participating in a necessary evil in order to serve the greater good. Similarly, if one believes in the "lesser of two evils" principle, I think there's a pretty implicit indication that one of those evils is necessary. Two of the biggest issues in political debates are taxes and medical care ... and I don't know anyone who says, "Yay, taxes are awesome!" or, "Boy, my health insurance company sure is swell!" But dealing with taxes and health insurance companies is the lesser evil when compared to the alternatives of having no state or federal money to pay for things like infrastructure, or dealing with medical costs without having any insurance coverage. If people are forced to choose between two evils, the lesser one becomes necessary unless you can opt-out altogether or for some reason think that choosing the greater evil is a good idea.

It would be impossible to come up with a comprehensive list of necessary evils, but I think they can be summed up into the following general definition: a necessary evil is one that's chosen in order to prevent the existence or perpetuation of a worse evil.

PROMPT: "Twilight again. Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end." Edward Do you ever wish certain days would never end? Why?

I'm too mercurial to be satisfied with a single day that never ends, no matter how great it might be. Even when an experience is really, really amazing, I often find myself looking to the horizon for what's next. Moreover, my idea of what's ideal changes from time to time. So while one day I might find lounging on the couch and surfing the web with a good movie in the background to be extremely satisfying and exactly the thing I want to be doing, it's just as often that the thought of sitting on the couch all day is a mortifying thought and I want nothing more than to get out of the apartment for a little while and do something. So even if I'm having a positively delightful day in which things couldn't possibly get any better, I'd still probably want that day to end at some point so I can look forward to what the next day has in store for me.

I think the horizon-gazing is what makes me so even-tempered and laid back most of the time. Since I'm always at least partially looking toward the future, it's easier for me to get through the bad times in the present since I know they're temporary. If I'm having money trouble, or a stressful day at work, or am running late, it's easier to cope with those things when you're keeping at least part of your perspective on what's ahead and realize that tomorrow's going to be an entirely different day.

Now if you're asking me if there are ever days that I wouldn't mind stretching out for a few more hours ... that's another matter entirely. There are definitely days I've experienced where I wouldn't mind clinging on to the moment for another couple minutes or hours. There are so many amazing moments a life can offer and it'd be foolish to say that I wouldn't want a single extra moment with some of them if I could manage it.

I suppose the real issue is one of ever/never/forever, which I've always struggled with. As mentioned above, I like change. I enjoy new challenges and new experiences and opportunities that take me out of my comfort zone. If you're asking me to commit to something for all time, I'm probably going to opt out. Like, I think being immortal would be cool for the first few centuries, or maybe the first millennium. But I bet there'd be a point where I'd think, "You know, I think I'd like to try being dead for a while." So if the question is an unqualified, "Would you want to always" or "Would you be happy never," my answer is probably no. I want options!