"Necessary Evil"

[qos]

An acquaintance used the prase "necessary evil" recently, and it got me thinking -- again -- about its implications. The more I think about it, the less I like it.

Is there such a thing as an action that is indeed a "necessary" "evil"?

Is it "necessary" -- or are we suffering from a failure of imagination in being able to come up with other, better alternatives?

Or can we indeed imagine better alternatives, but are prevented from acting on them by outside forces that we can not in that moment overcome? Or by our own internal limitations?

Is the choice we make truly "evil" -- or are we using that word instead of something else?
Is it harsh, painful, unsatisfying, a source of grief?
Do we default to naming something "evil" when what we really mean is "painful from my perspective"?

Are there some situations which are so suffused with evil that there is no choice that is not tainted by it?


I don't have the answers, but I'm curious about other peoples' perspectives.