Missile Defense with India

India and Pakistan are on the verge of a cold war. Pakistan is building up it's nuclear arsenal and India, feeling threatened, does the same out of fear of being wiped out without defense. With this build up comes the possibility that one of the countries, whether on purpose or by accident, will fire one of their weapons on their neighbor. One missile could and most likely would start an onslaught that would entirely desolate both countries. How is this of any concern of us here in the U.S.? It is a chance for the U.S. to gain favorable relations with India.

India is, right now, doing everything they can to keep themselves from being destroyed by Pakistan. To India that means building up their nuclear weapons, but if they had a system by which they could protect themselves would they continue to build these weapons? What if they had access to the worlds most advanced missile defense and radar system? With the peace of mind that comes with knowing that a nuclear missile could not reach their soil before being destroyed India would have no need to further their nuclear program and would still maintain their national sovereignty that they hold so dearly.

The U.S. has such a system, it is called the U.S. Patriot. Allowing India to use a Patriot system would be sure to put us in a favorable position with India as well as preventing India and Pakistan from destroying each other.

The Trial of Tom Robinson

During most of the book 'To Kill a Mockingbird' there were events leading up to and events in the aftermath of the Tom Robinson t. The case was a lawsuit filed against Tom Robinson, a black man, accusing him of raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of one of the 'village idiots' at the time. The question is 'Why did Atticus Finch, who was a defense attorney for Maycomb, take the Tom Robinson case? Would a lawsuit against a black man, given Maycomb's extremely racial attitude, even stand a chance to convince a jury of Tom's innocence? By taking the case, what troubles did Atticus bring down on him and his family? What could he possibly gain by defending Tom?

The people of Maycomb County lived in a sad time. It was a time where, although black people were free, there was an extreme racial attitude, especially in Maycomb County. They had separate schools and churches, avoiding interaction with each other as much as possible. Although this was not the feeling of every person in Maycomb, it does portray the feeling of most. Atticus Finch, the father of the main character, Scout, was one of the few in Maycomb who did not hold a racial prejudice. With such strong a strong feeling towards black people there was no way that the people of Maycomb could be convinced that Tom was innocent, even in the presents of overwhelming evidence. All this because of the color of his skin.

With no hope of winning the case, there was no reason for Atticus to defend the falsely accused Tom Robinson. In fact, taking the case would cause him to suffer many insults, much name calling, and would lower him in the eyes of Maycomb. Yet, even with these disincentives, Atticus took the case knowing full well it would not be a popular decision. He took this case because he believed that the Negroes living in Maycomb were being unjustly treated overall, as well as in this specific case. Atticus understood that whatever your skin color every man is created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights. It was for this reason that Atticus fought for Tom Robinson. He understood that if no one stood up in an attempt to change the unprecedented presumption that all black people are lesser beings, the racism would never end.

When the time of the trial finally rolled around, there had already been many insults thrown and almost as many noses broken by Scout, but Atticus was ready. The trial came and Atticus proved, far beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Tom Robinson was not guilty. He was so convincing he even had the prosecuting lawyer, a friend of his, leaning toward his side by the end of the trial. Yet even after being given the facts and the overwhelming truth that Tom did not rape Mayella Ewell, the jury voted, as everyone in Maycomb knew they would, that Tom Robinson was guilty of the accused crime. Even though it would seem that Atticus had failed at his goal, in reality he had not. Knowing that he would not be able to win the case because of the racist attitude of the people, Atticus still wholeheartedly attempted to persuade the jury of Tom's innocence, in an attempt to prove to them that a black man was no different than a white man. After the evidence had been presented and the closing speeches had been made, the jury went to decide if Tom was rightfully accused. If Atticus had not defended Tom so passionately, it would have taken the jury but five minutes to vote and condemn the black man. Since Atticus had devoted everything he had into defending Tom it took the Jury hours to come to a conclusion. This alone meant that Atticus was getting his message across to the people of Maycomb.

When Atticus was put on the Tom Robinson case he knew there was no chance that he could win. However, he pushed to defend Tom because he knew it was the right thing to do and that it was the only thing that could be done in order to begin to change the preconceived notions of Maycomb. Through his diligence and perseverance, Atticus began to convince people that all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights among which are life, liberty, and the lursuit of happiness.