When Left with No Other Choice, Would You Kill one Person to Save Another?

When Left With No Other Choice, Would You Kill One Person To Save Another?

By: Julia Johnson-McDonald

Growing up, my mum would tell me that it’s okay to do something bad, as long as it’s the greater of two evils. For example, if your friend looks really gross on picture day, but it’s nothing that she can control, just tell her that she looks good anyways. If she can’t possibly fix the problem, then it’s best to lie rather than to have her feel bad and obsess over her looks. You see, in life we have to take other people's feelings into consideration. We can’t just walk around insulting people. If we did, the world would turn into mayhem. Everyone would either be completely rude and inconsiderate, or totally shattered and broken. By acting civil, we create a community. We build friendships, families, memories and lives. When faced with difficult decisions, it’s these very communities that we lean back on for support. It’s the memories that we hold on to and the friendships that we desperately attempt to save. We can’t make decisions on our own, no matter how independent we may believe that we are.

An incredibly extreme example, would be choosing to kill one person in order to save another. There are many things that you’d need to consider. For example age, how much they mean to you, how much they mean to the local community as well as the rest of the world. Sometimes we have to take a step back and really think about the impact that our choices are making. Say if the two people we are talking about are Justin Trudeau and your closest friend. Without Trudo, our will nation would be lacking leadership. We need Trudeau to finish conducting his projects and outreaches, (we especially need him to legalize pot first!!). But on the other hand, you can always elect another prime minister, but you can’t replace your closest friend.

In total honesty, the majority of our humanity would choose to save their