issue 4 求喷

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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.


The statement claims that scandals are useful as they help us focus on problems in ways that no speakers or reformers could. This claim has some merit, since scandals indeed can bring some issues to daylight which may never be revealed through formal channels. However, it is an oversimplification and unfair generalization to say that scandals are always useful. More often than not, we are distracted by the scandals when we are supposed to focus on more important and urgent issues.

First, I do admit that some scandals are useful. Without these scandals, certain issues may never see the daylight. With the scrutiny of mass media, the immense pressure from the public will force the politicians and officials to make some changes, who may otherwise choose to ignore these issues. For example, there are numerous scandals indicating widespread misconducts within the US army. A young soldier with Asian origin was recently abused and beaten to death by other soldiers within the unit. This issue has caused an outcry about not only treatment of young soldiers, but also made people think about racial discrimination within the army. A few years ago, a soldier in Afghanistan killed tens of civilians including children. When this scandal came out, it seriously questioned the legitimacy of the whole campaign. Scandals about sexual harassment and abuse of POWs are nothing new anymore. It is worth noticing that there are indeed formal channels within the army to report these kinds of wrongdoings. However, perhaps due to the suppression from senior commanders, or unwillingness to create discontent within the unit, few of these cases were brought into daylight, until the mass media somehow knew about these stories and made them pubic. Only after the release of the scandals did the general public realized how serious it is, and politicians went under great pressures for real reforms. In such situations, scandals are indeed helpful as they accelerate the process of reform and change.

However, while we do have scandals that are helpful, more often than not we are distracted by useless scandals that distract our attention. The sexual scandal of the former chief of IMF with a hotel cleaner does nothing helpful about the current chaos in the global financial market. Scandals like corruption are usually weapons against the political opponents, while the primary concern is not about justice. When Nixon was involved in the water gate scandal, it did nothing but distract the public’s attention from the situation in Vietnam and the increasing tension with the Soviet Union. Let alone scandals about movie starts and other public celebrities, and these scandals do nothing helpful but just to increase the circulation.  

To sum up, we cannot generalize the situation by saying that all scandals are helpful. While some scandals are indeed helpful, in the sense that they help focus our attention on serious issues not previously known, other scandals are either just eye catchers or distractors that serve not real purpose.