Umberto Eco: True Enemies and Weaker Opponents

"I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies." Oscar Wilde

"In their moral justification, the argument of the lesser evil has played a prominent role. If you are confronted with two evils, the argument runs, it is your duty to opt for the lesser one, whereas it is irresponsible to refuse to choose altogether. Its weakness has always been that those who choose the lesser evil forget quickly that they chose evil.[....] Acceptance of the lesser evil is deliberately used to accustom officials, as well as the population at large, to accept the evil itself." Hannah Arendt