Kristian Jacob Abad Lora Lora, 1

Comm 1-F
Ms. Karla Quimsing
September 11, 2009

When Evil Turns Out to be Good

War creates peace. This paradoxical belief forces nations or groups of people to
resort to declaring war against the other in order to settle the conflict between or among
them. However, war’s adversary effects have always overshadowed its positive side
and sometimes, war is used for things other than for the common good. This is why
most of the people think war has always been bad and never been good. They say that
war is irrelevant when there are always chances to have peace talks. Through these
talks, fatalities and other massive extremities will be prevented.

Nonetheless, the undeniable truth is that war has its necessity. It is necessary at
times when it is deemed necessary. These times are when peace negotiations are
impossibly attainable, when long-time running negotiations bear no fruit at all, or when
the general welfare needs to be protected and promoted. Moreover, war is not only a
matter of peace but also of things that many will benefit.

First, war is important in settling dispute where a party uses force and rejects
peace negotiations coming from the other party. Take this scenario for instance, a tribe
and its neighboring tribe have a conflict on a land between their territories. The former
asks the latter to discuss the conflict and make agreements afterwards. Despite the
invitation for negotiation, the latter unexpectedly attacks the former and insists that they
will fully own the land. The only thing that the victim tribe can do to protect its people is
to retaliate also with force.

Second, war advances security of the people and of countries. It will secure them
and help them to be free from colonialism, imperialism and terrorism. History shows that
war contributed much to the freedom of Philippines from its colonizers. If not for the
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revolutionary wars, Philippines would have not been free from the direct colonization of
Spaniards and Americans. If not for the war between America and Japan where the
former bombarded the latter with two atomic bombs, Japan would have not been
stopped from harassing its colonies that once included the Philippines.

Third, war protects human rights. It ceases oppressions and other human rights
violations. German ruler Adolf Hitler, in his pursuit of his idealistic dream of ruling the
world, harassed people, suppressed their freedom, and persecuted the Jews. However,
there was one thing that finally put his unjust acts to an end and that was war,
specifically, the Second World War. The same thing was the aim of the United States
Civil War of 1865 that ended the centuries-old culture of slavery among its people. We
can see that through war, equality can also be obtained.

Fourth, during war, people learn to genuinely love and care for their fellowmen.
Mostly, it is during war when heroes pop out – from doctors, nurses, priests and
volunteers up to those who ransom their lives to save others’ lives. It is during war when
genuine loyalty and patriotism is being tested and manifested.

Finally, war, when successful at its end, results to long-lasting peace. It has been
almost 64 years since the World War II ended and in this long span of time, there are no
threats from the nations that participated in it to fight once again. In addition, Japan and
Philippines have been in good relations for almost 64 years after Japan decided to end
oppressing the Filipinos.

Truly, war involves downsides like hurt, pain, death and destruction – these are
just natural. However, one must be enlightened that wars considered necessary are
done for the benefit of the people in both present and future generations. Sadly, it is
inevitable that sometimes, there are lives and things sacrificed to advance the general
welfare. This is a reality in life where we have no other option but to accept it.
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However, because of these evident downsides, war is generally perceived to be

evil. Nonetheless, when it is much needed, it becomes a necessary evil aiming to make
peace. Meanwhile, it must be taken into consideration that war should be the last resort,
that is, it should be done only when everything fails to attain peace, justice, equality and
liberty; otherwise, war will lose its essence.