Request for Review - GRE ISSUE

[Danyal Zafar]

Please be kind enough to rate and review my Issue response for GRE essay. Thank you :-)

Scandals are useful because they focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

 

It is important to keep public attention on social problems to ensure the smooth functioning of a society. Two ways of focusing that attention are scandals and public debates by reformers and speakers. Scandals are usually discarded for dramatizing petty issues, however, therein lies the usefulness of scandals: Scandals capture the attention of the public on problems in such profound ways that may not be possible for most reformers or speakers.

 

Often in public debates the discussions on problems only touch the tip of the iceberg. It may be that the intelligentsia is either not fully aware of the magnitude of the problem or, they do not delve into the details to maintain political correctness. Either way, the reformers and speakers fail to pique the public's interest. On the other hand, scandals have the potential to reveal the depth and the magnitude of the issue in one instant. For instance, the revelations by Edward Snowden regarding mass surveillance carried out by the National Security Agency led to a public outcry against the breach of privacy. Many social activists and critics had been pointing out this issue previously as well, but it never gained as much

traction as it did after the Edward Snowden episode. Thus, scandals are useful in grabbing public attention in a way that the intelligentsia can not.

 

In addition to revealing the true depth and magnitude of an issue, scandals can also bring to the fore issue that were not even the part of public debate. Issues such as pedophilia and rape, though prevalent in the society, are not discussed in most Muslim countries. Debate on such issues and their public acceptance is a taboo. In such circumstances reformers and speakers can not discuss these issues in public as the society refuses to lend an ear to them. However, if a scandal about these issues is reported in the media, the public will be to talk about such issues. Hence, scandals prove to be useful in bringing problems to the agenda of public debate.

 

However, some problems are of a nature that can best be addressed by the relentless efforts of speakers and reformers. The Suffrage movement in the late 18th and early 19th century for women's right to vote is a quintessential example of a problem that was solved by persistent efforts of speakers and reformers. Figures such as Eliabeht Caddy Stanton and Alice Paul did not wait for a scandal to break out. They realized the problem, gathered mass support by organizing protests and writing literature, and eventually led to the passage of the 19 Amendment in the constitution of USA that allowed women the right to vote.

 

To sum, scandals are useful, in majority instances at least, because they capture the focus the attention of public on problems in ways that most speakers and reformers may not be able to do.