Lesser Evils

Being forced to choose the lesser of two evils, one inevitably chooses evil. For half a century Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, Jr. declined to recognize this inevitability. It was a flaw of character that lasted to the end of his life. None of us is perfect. But there is no reason the rest of us should live in that shadow, or enshrine the error as though it were a matter of national pride. In fact, it would likely do us good, as a nation, if on the anniversary of those dates we participated in the rites of mourning. Invariably, necessity trails regret in its wake.