Once we assuage our conscience by calling something a "necessary evil", it begins to look more and more necessary and less and less evil.
Interpretation
Labeling something as a 'necessary evil' helps us justify its existence, often leading to decreased moral scrutiny.
Sydney J. Harris highlights a critical flaw in human reasoning where the act of labeling something as a 'necessary evil' leads to a comfort that diminishes our moral apprehension. When we categorize certain actions or events in this way, we risk normalizing them and failing to recognize their inherent negativity, allowing them to appear more acceptable over time.
In practice
During a corporate meeting discussing layoffs, one might quote this to challenge the perception of necessary budget cuts.
A person is either himself or not himself; is either rooted in his existence or is a fabrication; has either found his humanhood or is still playing with masks and roles and status symbols. And nobody is more aware of this difference (although unconsciously) than a child. Only an authentic person can evoke a good response in the core of the other person; only person is resonant to person.
We evaluate others with a Godlike justice, but we want them to evaluate us with a Godlike compassion.
The commonest fallacy among women is that simply having children makes them a mother - which is as absurd as believing that having a piano makes one a musician.
Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.
"Terrorism" is what we call the violence of the weak, and we condemn it; "war" is what we call the violence of the strong, and we glorify it.
At it's highest level, the purpose of teaching is not to teachβit is to inspire the desire for learning. Once a student's mind is set on fire, it will find a way to provide its own fuel.
That's all an angel is....an idea of God.
While I know myself as a creation of God, I am also obligated to realize and remember that everyone else and everything else are also God's creation.
The goal of life is not to have our lives mean something to ourselves. The goal of life is to have our lives mean something to others.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value.
Humanity needs justice, peace and love and we can have this only by returning with our hearts towards God who is the source of all this.
God can do nothing for me until I recognize the limits of what is humanly possible, allowing Him to do the impossible.
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