Sometimes good guys have to work a little harder, sometimes good guys have to absorb losses, sometimes good guys need to demonstrate principles in the face of adversity. That, and only that makes them the good guys.

You make a profound moral point, Bowser, and I mean that you're in good company when I say it reminded me of this expression of the principle:

The Supreme Court and the Problem of Terrorism
by Aharon Barak
President of the Israel Supreme Court

(from Foreword: A Judge on Judging - The Role of a Supreme Court in a Democracy by Aharon Barak - President of the Israel Supreme Court. Originally printed in Harvard Law Review, November, 2002.)

A. Terrorism and Democracy

Terrorism plagues many countries. The United States realized its devastating power on September 11, 2001. Other countries, such as Israel, have suffered from terrorism for a long time. [FN1] While terrorism poses difficult questions for every country, it poses especially challenging questions for democratic countries, because not every effective means is a legal means. I discussed this in one case, in which our Court held that violent interrogation of a suspected terrorist is not lawful, even if doing so may save human life by preventing impending terrorist acts:

We are aware that this decision does not make it easier to deal with that reality. This is the fate of democracy, as not all means are acceptable to it, and not all methods employed by its enemies are open to it. Sometimes, a democracy must fight with one hand tied behind its back. Nonetheless, it has the upper hand. Preserving the rule of law and recognition of individual liberties constitute an important component of its understanding of security. At the end of the day, they strengthen its spirit and strength and allow it to overcome its difficulties.
...
We, the judges in modern democracies, are responsible for protecting democracy both from terrorism and from the means the state wants to use to fight terrorism. Of course, matters of daily life constantly test judges’ ability to protect democracy, but judges meet their supreme test in situations of war and terrorism. The protection of every individual’s human rights is a much more formidable duty in times of war and terrorism than in times of peace and security. If we fail in our role in times of war and terrorism, we will be unable to fulfill our role in times of peace and security. It is a myth to think that we can maintain a sharp distinction between the status of human rights during a period of war and the status of human rights during a period of peace. It is self-deception to believe that a judicial ruling will be valid only during wartime and that things will change in peacetime. The line between war and peace is thin—what one person calls peace, another calls war. In any case, it is impossible to maintain this distinction over the long term. Since its founding, Israel has faced a security threat. As a Justice of the Israeli Supreme Court, how should I view my role in protecting human rights given this situation? I must take human rights seriously during times of both peace and conflict. I must not make do with the mistaken belief that, at the end of the conflict, I can turn back the clock.

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Israel's a nation that's been under extreme stress all its relatively short life. While I don't approve of all the choices it's made over the years, I have to admire the courage to stand by principle no matter the pressure.