Realities Of War Don’t Always Hit Home

The San Diego Union-Tribune -- Almost every year, I teach a segment of one of my courses on just war theory, a venerable tradition that attempts to bring some vestiges of human decency into the hell of war. International restrictions on such things as nerve gas and torture are part of this tradition, and just war theory comprises a nexus of issues about which military leaders are deeply concerned and to the scholarly discussion of which military officers regularly contribute.

When I discussed these issues with my students this fall, I mentioned that they have grown up in a country that has been at war since there were in sixth grade. They give me puzzled looks – more so than usual – and asked what I meant. Sure, they said, they knew there were wars going on, but it didn’t feel like we were at war. (Full Story)

Hinman, a professor of philosophy at the University of San Diego, writes often about ethics. He is a member of the U-T Community Editorial Board.