Assignment 9- Elizabeth Moore- Concentric Circles of Connectivity (appreciate the alliteration)

A rabid dog cannot be coerced into submission; the only solution is brute force, eliminating a threat to innocents. In the same way, violence by a militaristic faction or nation necessitates military action. Where there exists a cultural asymmetry or an idealistic disparity, diplomatic means can only go so far. Take the U.S. manhunt for Osama bin Laden. His hatred for western culture led to the death of innocents, and he had no plans to halt his vicious crusade. As we value the lives of innocent victims over guilty perpetrators, the quasi-war against al-Qaeda was valid. Most people would agree with me on that point. The point of contention is in dealing with a violent nation: are the soldiers we cut down guilty or merely fighting for the man out of necessity?

My ideals about the importance of others is best compared to a series of concentric circles. In my inner circle is my family; my second circle is my neighborhood and friends; my third is people in Lexington; fourth is Kentuckians; fifth is Americans; and sixth is everyone else. If someone on a higher circle threatens someone closer to the inner circle, I believe it’s morally sound to defend the person closer to the inner circle because I have a greater connection to that person. Based on this ideal, I would argue – unpopularly in liberal settings like Lexington I might add - that if Americans are faced by an extreme foreign threat, our country-men come first, regardless of the costs to the threatening foreign nation. If the issue cannot be resolved by any other means, then war is necessary.