Request for GRE Issue Essay Evaluation

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Hello everyone! I am currently studying for the GRE through Magoosh and I just wrote my first timed issue essay. Any critiques/score estimates would be well appreciated! Of course, I expect some errors...I tried my best to leave the essay "as is" after the 30 minutes were up. 

 

In this age of intensive media coverage, it is no longer possible for a society to regard any living man or woman as a hero. 

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

 

 

 

 

     The media holds an overwhelming presence in society. We wake up to the sound of a news broadcaster reporting on a terrorist attack overseas, we drive to work listening about the Icelandic woman who harbors Syrian war victims on her own financial accord, and we often spend minutes throughout our day reading various articles about everyday citizens performing impossibly selfless and heroic acts. Even so, such a saturation of media coverage is not necessarily beneficial. Present-day society can no longer appreciate nor properly recognize heroic acts due to media-caused desensitization.

     Public school teachers are a prime example of those who perform heroic tasks by enduring long hours, low pay, and a severe underappreciation from their community. Elementary, middle school, and high school teachers are martyrs to the field of education due to these three aforementioned factors. The media may cover a story on a teacher who moved to a third world country to educate homeless children, however, the media may never cover a story of an average high school teacher who lives pay check-to-pay check in order to educate the youth of their community.

     Also, the media seldom reports upon the defenders of societal peace and order: police officers. Few police officers are commended by society, but when they are, they are those who perform impossible tasks; such as incarcerating an entire drug cartel. However, this leads to society remaining ignorant the plight of the average police officer. Many police officers remain harshly underpaid for what their job requires: putting their lives at risk to save the lives of others. Throughout their professional careers police officers save countless human trafficking victims, imprison dozens of violent gang members, and save more innocent lives than they can count. Even so, the media keeps society ignorant to this fact because media stories only cover police officers who perform seemingly God-like feats.

     Although the societal desensitization induced by the media fails everyday heroes in their well-deserved commendation, there may be a benefit from the normalization of heroic acts. Noble deeds, such as saving lives for little pay, become commonplace in the community. A police officer becomes equal in honor and recognition as another average citizen. A paramedic receives the same respect as a preschool teacher. In this situation, people are choosing heroic and honorable professions for the sake of saving or educating members of their community. Without such a media-induced desensitization, community members may choose these professions for the sake of attention and not for the sole purpose of benefiting society.

     The media seldom commends those who perform heroic tasks on a daily basis; such as public school teachers, police officers, and paramedics. Those who constantly follow media coverage are bombarded by stories of people around the world performing seemingly impossible feats; therefore, those who perform everyday heroic tasks do not uphold to the definition of a “hero” to members of their own community.