The importance of the social contract as a necessary tool for any functional government.

"Once this multitude is united this way into a body, an offense against one of its members is an offense against the body politic. It would be even less possible to injure the body without its members feeling it. Duty and interest thus equally require the two contracting parties to aid each other mutually. The individual people should be motivated from their double roles as individuals and members of the body, to combine all the advantages which mutual aid offers them...." Jean Jacques Rousseau said in "The Social Contract" that any attack against a person who is considered a member of a community is an attack against the community as a whole. Using this theory, it can be deferred that in order to protect the community itself, everyone must contribute in order to prevent a collapse. Because I believe that every individual who holds his community dear carries the responsibility to defend it, I must affirm today's resolution: When called upon by one's government, individuals are morally obligated to risk their lives for their country.

English: Photograph of the Rally to Restore Sanity...

English: This is the title page of an early pirate...

English: Book "The Social Contract" by Jean-Jacque...

Before I go on, I will define key terms in the resolution. Government is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the system by which a state or community is governed". Moral is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "standards of behaviour, or principles of right and wrong." Obligation is defined by the Catholic Encyclopedia as "bond which by a legal necessity binds us to do something according to the laws of our State." From these definitions, we can draw the conclusion that, under the social contract, a community is always going to be governed, and that there is no choice, either moral or logical, involved. Once someone is within a governed area, that person cannot escape it. By agreeing to be...