If you think the conflict between Ruby's side and Ironwood was a "moral dilemma" then I do honestly hope you never end up in Mantle's shoes.
Are you serious anon? If you are I seriously hope YOU are never put into a position of power where this kind of situation comes up because volume 7 set up a trolley problem.
We have a problem, Salem, who is on her way to Atlas. We know she wants two of the world ending relics currently housed in Atlas. We know Salem is immortal and is not afraid to kill people to get what she wants. Atlas is a conveniently floating chunk of land that can be moved to a different location to escape Salem even if only temporarily to try and come up with a plan to deal with Salem since James only recently found out she was immortal and had no chance to come up with something.
Taking Atlas and escaping though means leaving Mantel behind because they have no clue how long they have until Salem arrives and James thinks the risk to try and either get everyone out of Mantel or simply standing their ground is too high and wants to leave immediately. Ruby however believes it is wrong to leave anyone behind and thinks the risk of Salem killing everyone and getting the relics is worth it for the chance to ensure everyone escapes.
Both thought process's have their pros and cons. Neither plan is perfect and, despite what people like you anon like to pretend, neither plan guarantees no one will die. In fact we see Ruby's plan go to complete shit and we know at least all of the soldiers die as we see none of them in Vacuo. Realistically though Ruby's plan in the end still probably killed a lot of civilians because an hour if we're being generous could never be enough time to move two cities worth of people through a single portal. Ruby's plan feels nicer and more heroic. James's plan feels bad but is more realistic. Neither person is wrong or even bad in this moment when this issue is being discussed. James is focusing on the big picture, Ruby on the smaller in the moment issue. Both arguably come from how the trauma of Beacon affected them, Ruby in losing her friends and never wanting that again, James is seeing Salem take down his army like it was nothing and feeling powerless against her and wanting to escape with what they can while they have the chance still.
This situation is not black and white. Their is no perfect answer that will solve everyone's problem with zero cost. Ruby wants to gamble with the lives of everyone on both Atlas AND Mantel because she wants to try and save everyone. James however does not like that risk and thinks its not worth it.
I really don't know how to make this any simpler for you anon because clearly you have the moral understanding of a toddler.