Problem
Now come several difficult questions that I want you to think about very carefully before you answer.
It is important that we carefully think through the concepts we use (in this case justice), so we can stand up for our beliefs (Intellectual Autonomy), and not be overly swayed by others.
The trouble is that sometimes we flip-flop a bit and use whatever definition gets us what we want. If we are sympathetic to someone, we might use one concept of justice and if we don't like someone, we might use another. Do you think, for instance, that rich and poor in our country are treated the same in our Justice System? Shouldn't the concept justice be blind to whether the accused is rich or poor? (Remember you only need to write an answer to a question when I give you a specific writing assignment.)
In an in-person class, a student drew a parallel between Nancy in this song and the U.S. in the war against Terrorism. It is commonly accepted that Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the attack on the World Trade Towers on 9-11. Bin Laden was in Afghanistan. We asked that community to arrest him and they wouldn't (just like the community in the song wouldn't arrest the wealthy man). So then the U.S. (like Nancy in the song) felt justified in taking the law into its own hands. Most of the world accepted our military action in Afghanistan because they felt it was justified by the 9-11 attack (just like in the song the community felt Nancy's actions were justified by the murder of her cowboy).
Here is the third writing assignment for this unit. So here are the difficult questions. Were we justified in attacking Afghanistan after 9-11 since that is where Osama Bin Laden was operating from? If we were justified, wouldn't you have to say that Nancy was justified as well? The reasoning was very similar. Be sure to explain your answer.