War Hye Jee Kim

War is a difficult topic to discuss. I've never experienced it first hand. The closest I've ever gotten is watching Saving Private Ryan. And although I do sob a little bit at the "earn this" part of the movie, it's no where near approached the physical and emotional trauma of actual combat. So I'm certainly not an expert on this topic. All that I'm going to say is based on my limited knowledge about war and philosophy.

When I was at camp this summer, one of my seminars was on the ethics of war. We talked about Just War Theory, which is made up of jus ad bellum (when is it just to go to war) and jus in bello (what actions are just during war). That seminar is the first time I really thought about war, and the difference between morally just and morally right.

I think there is a time for war. As violent as it is, sometimes it's necessary. If there's an invasion, or a imminent proven threat to the citizens of a nation, a country, in my opinion, is morally justified to start a war as a last resort. If a country does go to war, there should be no other alternatives. War should only happen when all other reasonable efforts have been tried, and have failed. All diplomatic and economic measures should be taken in order to prevent war. Economic sanctions, treaties, the works. If they all don't work, war is morally justified because it is the lesser of two evils. War will never morally right. It will always be evil. But if it's the evil that will cause the least amount of damage to innocent lives, it can be justifiable.

Going to war for humanitarian intervention is hotly debated. On one side, as the world's only superpower, the United States has a responsibility to act as a policing force and intervene where human rights are being violated. On the other side, why should we send American citizens overseas to fight a threat that doesn't directly affect them? To be honest, I see both sides, and I don't know which one I agree with. I think I might agree with the first side, but that may just be because I've seen Hotel Rwanda. War is complicated and messy, and it often thrusts people into a position where they might need to weigh the importance of lives against each other. Is killing this man who orchestrated an attack that killed 50 people just if his elderly grandmother and 5 innocent children will die too? Is it okay to save an American soldier, if it means you have to kill 30 innocent foreign civilians? These decisions are some that I can't make, especially not with my limited knowledge and non-existent experience. Sorry.