Assignment 9 - Rob Gilligan - To what Ends?

It has been said that the ends do not justify the means. This phrase is often applied to the topic of warfare when discussing if the lives lost in the violence are justifiable for what the lives were lost for. The truth is, sometimes the ends do justify the means. War and violence should of course never be the first option. Diplomatic solutions are usually quicker, easier, and result in no bloodshed. But what happens when these non-violent solutions fail, or the opposing side refuses to even begin negotiations? Despite it being overused as an example for just about everything, the holocaust serves a great case study. The Nazi party was never going negotiate a peaceful end to their mass persecution of the Jewish population. Although the entrenchment of the Nazis on foreign soil provoked other nations into declaring war, it is undeniable that the murder of millions of innocent people was a large factor in starting World War II. It became obvious that to save lives, we were going to have to lose lives. Did the war save more lives than it cost? I do not know the answer, but the violence was only going to be stopped when met with violence.