.png)
 |
| Bridget Kim Class of 2019 |
Scars are:
- Messy leftovers from a disappointing dinner.
- The ashes dusting the dying embers of a bonfire.
- Reminders that, despite all of our accomplishments, human beings remain fallible.
Scars are beautiful. Precious.
I recently got into a four-car accident in a town I did not
expect to be in. I also recently got into an unintentionally emotional semi-argument
with one of my professors over the concept of deterrence. He asserted that for the
U.S. to reasonably threaten other countries was a sure-fire way of maintaining its
status and power. I respect him immensely and, most importantly, he is not
wrong. In the world (literally) of foreign policy, if you declare your
dominance by not only puffing up your magnificent, star-spangled chest, but by proving
you have the means to hound any aspiring upstart, then you may rest upon your
skeleton-laurels. I have approximately .0005% of the knowledge that I need to entertain
a more intellectual, rational mindset about deterrence, but considering it as a
pure concept, I’ve concluded that something about it is extremely repellent to
me. I am not a fan of force unless it is necessary, unless imminent danger
becomes reality. To bullies I say, “bully for you!” but I am not a supporter.
Perhaps I am a Naïve Nancy. Perhaps I am grossly
misunderstanding this age-old idea. I sloshed my way through explaining my debatably-ignorant
position on deterrence, fumbling to elucidate to my professor that disregarding
the safety of actual human lives, any one of them, for the sake of a
prestigious position is horrendous. Is it ethical to harm others even if it is
for our own protection? He calmly rationalized that it is us against them, and
if it comes down to sacrificing one thousand of their lives for the benefit of
one thousand of our lives, the cost is worth it. As a matter of principle, not
power, I am against this. I do not know much, but I do know how my morality
guides me. I will listen to it.
In any career field that I enter, I must be realistic. I will
learn to be aware that for some to succeed, others must fail. With that bustling
around in my mind, I’m not sure how to come to terms with the cognitive
dissonance of desiring the prosperity of everyone and also desiring my own
success. My stomach stirs as I write this; it felt like my heart was sliced
open in that classroom. It has been stitched back up in a different pattern.
But it’s scarring up nicely. The car accident and the class
discussion coincided, and all I came away with was one faint scar across my
neck from the seatbelt, a mechanism meant to protect me by briefly hurting me. I
kind of like having the scar. I kind of woke up during that eventful week. Reassurance
radiates through my body knowing that as much tumult and stress you put your
body through, it is capable of mending itself.
Scars are:
- New knowledge and understanding gained from an argument.
- Super cool conversation starters.
- Physical manifestations of perseverance.
Bridget Kim, of Morehead, Ky., is a sophomore McConnell Scholar studying political science, classical languages, and linguistics.