Sacrifice is one thing that should never be taken lightly. They are just like our words, once uttered, they can never be unsaid. So it is that once a sacrifice is made, it can't be reversed. However, the circumstances surrounding the sacrifice itself could very well change. It could also change the way the people accept it once they know the reason for the sacrifice.
Sacrifices don't come easy and it's never to be easy so that one doesn't have any regrets. It's something that requires a lot of thought and process poured into it because that is the only way that the person in question can decide if they really want to go ahead with it or not. And for all these reasons, it's also why a decision like this should never be made by someone else.
Normally, you shouldn't be the one to make the decision for me to sacrifice something in my life. It should be mine and mine alone, because anything short of that and I won't be happy with it. And once the giver is unhappy, it poisons the entire fruit basket. It works in all forms of sacrifices, including the sacrifice of lives. No one has the right to decide who lives and who dies.
I know that in the grand scheme of things, it will be the right thing to do. Sacrificing the lives of a few so that millions more could enjoy for the rest of time. But then, if innovation and advancement was to come at such a high cost, is it worth it? If we're ready to let some people die for the betterment of the society, does that mean that if faced with such situation, we would do it again?
But then, refusing to make the sacrifice could also mean that everyone suffers as a result. You don't want the people you lead to suffer, but you also don't want to kill your people unjustly. No matter how noble your intentions may be. All you can think of is that those few people have families, they have friends, people who love them and who need them in their lives. So, making that choice to sacrifice them is just not cool at all.
So, what would I do in such a situation? Honestly, I have no idea. As they say, unease lies the head that wears the crown. Only the king knows how tight the crown he wears is. I guess the stakes would get to decide just what action there will be to take. Because governments of today that's how they think; they only consider the best possible case that will yield the lowest possible casualties.
While they would happily prefer methods that didn't lead to the death of their people, they would agree to the one that promised a better life for the masses if there was no other option. It is what it is. The minority will always be less favoured than the majority in such situations. So, I'm don't really know what decisions I will make in such a situation, however, I do know that it will be a really tough one. And it's one where all my ethics and all the morals I learned while growing up will come into play. Because then, I'll have to choose between taking the lives of a few and allowing millions to suffer.
This is a cruel position to be in.
