I Did What I Had to Do/Quotes

"I don't give a damn about your committee and its opinions on my work! Have you forgotten, sir, that we were at war? A fight with an alien race for the very survival of our species? I feel I must remind you, that it is an undeniable and may I say a fundamental quality of man that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable!"

—The Director of Project Freelancer, Red vs. Blue

Your Blood War can be summed up with the two most evil phrases my people know. Your foes, the demons, have the phrase, 'Because I can' on their side. You devils however have 'Because I had to' on yours. These two phrases, when distilled down to their essence, account for all suffering, and in the end, the latter is more destructive. The truest evil is not achieved by the men who think themselves the villain. The truest evil is done by the good man who does what he feels he must, and thus he does it without hesitation.

—Lars, The Open Door

The Operative: I believe in something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.
Mal: So me and mine gotta lay down and die... so you can live in your better world?

The Operative: I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there... any more than there is for you. Malcolm... I'm a monster. What I do is evil. I have no illusions about it, but it must be done.

—Serenity

Some may question your right to destroy ten billion people. Those who understand realize that you have no right to let them live...

—In Extermis Exterminatus, Warhammer 40,000

Victory is commemorated. Failure merely remembered.

—Imperial Proverb, Warhammer 40,000

Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.

—Ronald Reagan

Regrets, I've had a few/But then again, too few to mention/I Did What I Had to Do/And saw it through, without exemption.

—Frank Sinatra, My Way

We Anti-Spirals were once a Spiral race like yourselves. But when we learned that the evolution of Spiral Power would lead to the destruction of the universe, we annihilated all those who possessed the power of the Spiral, and drove the few surviving life forms to the far corners of the universe. We halted our own evolution and locked ourselves away into this pocket universe! On our homeworld we sealed away our bodies and any hope of evolution! [Anti-Spiral shows Team Dai-Gurren a dark planet that resembles Earth, with lifeless bodies similar to Anti-Spiral's lining the entire landmass]

This form is the symbol of our determination! Foolish creatures, drunk on Spiral Power! We defended the universe by killing our fellow spirals and halting our own evolution! Do you possess the sheer fortitude that is on par with that?! DO YOU?! WE SAY NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOT! AT! ALL!!!

—Anti Spiral, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Jack Bauer: Ibrahim Haddad had targeted a bus carrying 45 people, 10 of which were children. The truth, Senator, is that I stopped that attack from happening.
Blaine Mayer: By torturing Mr. Haddad.
Jack Bauer: By doing what I deemed necessary to save innocent lives.
Blaine Mayer: So basically, what you are saying, Mr. Bauer, is that the ends justify the means and you are above the law.
Jack Bauer: When I am activated, when I am brought into a situation, there is a reason. And that reason is to complete the objectives of my mission at all costs.
Blaine Mayer: ...even if it means breaking the law.

Jack Bauer: For a combat soldier, the difference between success and failure is your ability to adapt to your enemy. The people that I deal with, they don't care about your rules. All they care about is a result. My job is to stop them from completing their objective, at all costs. I simply adapted. In answer to your question, 'Am I above the law?', no sir. I am more than willing to be judged by the people you claim to represent. I will let them decide what price I should pay. But please sir, do not sit there with that smug look on your face and expect me to regret the decisions I have made. Because, sir, the truth is I don't.

—24, "Day 7: 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM"

Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients; sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps.

—Mordin Solus, Mass Effect 2

I didn't go berserk. I simply solved a problem.

—Clark W. Griswold, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

One final note: The Foundation does many distasteful things in the completion of our mission, but our mission is important enough that the price is one we must pay. Containment of SCP-231 is one of our most dangerous duties, not because of any direct danger to ourselves (like SCP-682) but because of the danger that our resolve will fail, that we will allow ourselves to either let down our guard due to sympathy for the suffering of an innocent, or that we will allow ourselves to become monsters through the performance of monstrous acts. Just do your jobs, and save the philosophizing for the shrink.
—O5-__, SCP Foundation On SCP-231

They were so close their stench filled the air... you can SMELL them, I tell you! Somewhere between the spice of vanilla and the bitter sweetness of pustulent rot. These creatures inhabit the bodies of men and women, exorcising the human soul and replacing it with their own putrid spirits. But they couldn't fool me! No, not at all... I could SMELL them, you see! They were all around me... dear god, all around... I knew what I had to do, they had to go, by blade and bullet I had to get rid of them! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! Dear god, I had to do it... had to... You believe me, don't you? Don't you?

—Maximillian Roivas, Ulyaoth Bonethief Autopsy, Eternal Darkness

Pancho needs your prayers it's true, but save a few for Lefty too

He only did what he had to do, and now he's growing old

—Townes Van Zandt, Pancho and Lefty

I did the right thing, but no one else will ever understand!

—Hollyleaf, Warrior Cats

"We are doing the right thing. Just sometimes the right thing's the hard thing."

—Judge Dredd