Q: Do You think you could take a life to defend your own.
Although I could never know for certain, I think I could, if I was in a position to (not being beaten bloody against a curb, but actually fighting)
Q: Would having a friend or family member's life on the line with yours make you change your reaction?
If my family or friend's life were on the line, I think I would actually be more likely to act. If my past has taught me anything it's that when I have a true friend or family member in danger I'm willing to do some very brave but very stupid things, so I guess it would only make my reaction faster. If I was alone I would be much more likely to hesitate.
Q: Would the difference between the up-close kill, and the point and click of a ranged weapon have a difference on you?
No. This much I can tell for pretty much certain. I'm not particularly desensitised to death, although I have experienced quite a bit of it, and I know that even the point and click of the ranged weapon would disturb me just as much as having to do it up close. The only potential difference would be that one way, the nightmares would be upclose relivings of the moment of death, and the other would be nightmares about the general sense of what I had done.
Q: Would having a stranger's life on the line with yours make you change your reaction?
I don't know. I would like to think that I would save a stranger, but I also know that my willingness to help people I don't know if they, for example, fall in the street or need help packing their car would probably not extend to life or death situations. That said I would like to think I would try and save them, but I know I would be more concerned with saving myself first, then the other person.