Colonel James D. Smith - 1180 Words

Edgehill Losses- Colonel James D. Smith, of Malmesbury, who commanded the twenty-first royalist cavalry at Edgehill stated earlier this evening, that it is only he of his regiment, who survived the bloody battle with an indecisive victor. He recounted the scene of the battle. As local inhabitants looked on the regiment fell to the heavens, there was body parts and blood covering the ground. One couldn’t tell who was alive and who was not. Lieutenant Edward B. Jones Jr., the youngest member of the regiment, whose own father used him as his own substitute, was the first to fall. One must have a hard time seeing why one should dutifully oblige the Kings’ request to fight with the numerous ghastly deaths. What is the greater good and greater†¦show more content†¦According to Hobbes, individuals have the right of nature or in other words the freedom to use one’s own power to doing anything and everything to preserve one self’s life. This is only just a nd right if one is acting with judgment and reason. [91] In putting the preservation of ones life above all else makes humans inherently selfish. Under the assumption that human nature is selfish and one is always justified in attempting to avoid a violent death, how can one be obliged to serve? Human naturally are creatures whom, ultimately act only if it maximizes our own self-interests. However, this obligation is not only in ones self interest but also in societies best interest only after one enters into the social contract. In entering into the social contract, one voluntarily transfers ones rights on to another then he is now obligated or bound to the superior authority he has transferred these rights upon. These bond or agreements hold strength due to the fear of punishment upon breaching of the contract. [92-93] However, there are some rights that are inalienable such as what Hobbes describes as the â€Å"the true liberties of subjects† in which are never relinquished to another. [150] Thus it is in the best interest of man to voluntarily transfer the rights one can. [92-93] The social contract theory or the regulating legal and moral standards in which allows everyone to thrive. The sovereign or the supreme authority creates property rights