"The ends justify the means"?

Well, when I was in my APUS class, my teacher brought up this discussion.

Do you think that the ends justify the means, or are the means just as important as the ends?

Discuss. =3

I think the means are as important as the ends, if you do multiple bad actions to achieve a good one, then the means matter, except if that good action makes up for the bad ones, or fixes the problems the bad action created, IMO

They're tantamount. No one, for example, likes anyone that overthrows a ruler with a military force, even if they do establish a better dynasty. Equally, some people don't like Bush for trying to make Iraq into a model country for the Middle East. That's what some Greek rulers did, though, and that's what Vladimir Lenin tried to do.

It all sort of, depends. If the means are crazy to reach a mild end, then no, the end doesn't justify the means.

It's all purely situational...there can't really be a yes or no answer.

It is, as Dakota said, situational... but when it comes to something like world domination, and you kill people to get your way, not at all.

World domination! I want world domination!!!

...Personally, I don't know if the ends justify the means. What this saying means to me is, it doesn't matter what you do on the way, by the end of the path, it's fine. I don't think things are justified just because it's easier to end them that way. In a lot of movies the bad guy is gruesomely killed, but it's justified by that they have to stop the bad guy.