Issue185 CLVolkov 4月作文小组第13次作业

CLVolkovUID：2305902

TOPIC: ISSUE185 - "Scandals-whether in politics, academia, or other areas-can be useful. They focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could."
WORDS: 644          TIME: 1:00:26          DATE: 2007-4-6

Before analyze on what benefits scandals may bring, I would like to clarify what scandal is at first. As I don't have a dictionary here, I would just define the word upon my own judgement. Scandal is some kind of discredit things, verified or unverified, done by specific person or group of people of whom the reputation is going to be decreased or damaged if public come to know it. Thus we have 3 factors here: discredit, artificial and public recognized. As in my opinion, without any of them it wouldn't be called as a scandal. In addition of the concept, no matter the scandal is authentic or just malicious gossips, the reputation of the "suspect" would be undermined more or less, which I would like it to be called a "theorem" of the scandal.

Admittedly, scandals would be of some kind of use, since public attention could be drawed to the specific field of society, which may be out of the notice of authorities. Hence authorities would take actions and may result in improvements for the society. Let's take Bureau of Medicine Supervising in China (as I paraphrased) for example. The scandals of corruption of 3 continuous presidents of the government bureau has well drawn public attention and raised a discussion of the uneffective and banal system of medicine management, and finally extended to the range of the whole medical care system in China. Though we aren't able to see obvious improvements for now, government funded researches and some reforming actions are being taken. At least it has made a difference, and difference may lead to an improvement.

However, it should be noticed that in most situations scandals are being related more specifically to a person himself or herself, not for the purpose of social improvements. In the 5th season of the famous movie of "24 hours" produced by 20th Century Fox, Heller, secretary of the defense, provided with the evidence of President Logan being involved in the assassination of former president Palmer, choosed to negotiate with Logan of resigning, instead of holding him to the attorney general. Though Logan's involvement of assassination couldn't be defined as a "scandal" as it hasn't been known by public, it would be if Logan refused to resign. Of course, Heller's request on Logan may have a good purpose of not jeopadizing the integrity of the US government, but it could well served other kinds of purposes too. Such "potential" scandals are so powerful and actually being used as chips. Even in the example of China medical system, the scandals wasn't for the purpose of improving the situation as well.

For common people, a scandal may be more destructive than in the big shots, since big shots have the power of clarifying the fabricated scandals which common people don't have. And most contactants with the victim wouldn't be eager to verify if such scandals exist or not. Thus it would be easy to jeopadizing one's fame just by repeating the same story for enough times, as an old saying in Chinese(and I paraphrase), once three different men claim there is tiger just around the village, there is a tiger. No matter the story is true or not, or the victim has clarified their innocence or not, his or her fame is undermined inevitably.

To sum up, scandals could be doing good to the society, could be a source of improvements. In this aspect I agree the statement of scandals being useful. But such benefits are mostly indirect effects and not the basic element of scandal itself. I think it similar more or less to nuclear weapon, which was intended to massacre but at last indirectly leads to such a long time of peace human-beings hadn't enjoyed during any period of history before. Scandals were not for the purpose of improving the society but indirectly leads to it.

寂寞樱花UID：2306511

Before analyze on what benefits scandals may bring, I would like to clarify what scandal is at first. As I don't have a dictionary here, I would just define the word upon my own judgement. Scandal is some kind of discredit things, verified or unverified, done by specific person or group of people of whom the reputation is going to be decreased or damaged if public come to know it. Thus we have 3 factors here: discredit, artificial and public recognized. As in my opinion, without any of them it wouldn't be called as a scandal. In addition of the concept, no matter the scandal is authentic or just malicious gossips, the reputation of the "suspect" would be undermined more or less, which I would like it to be called a "theorem" of the scandal. (LZ的作文果然与众不同，开头稍微长了一些，不过问题是交代的很清楚。)

Admittedly, scandals would be of some kind of use, since public attention could be drawed to the specific field of society, which may be out of the notice of authorities. Hence authorities would take actions and may result in improvements for the society. Let's take Bureau of Medicine Supervising in China (as I paraphrased) for example. The scandals of corruption of 3 continuous presidents of the government bureau has well drawn public attention and raised a discussion of the uneffective and banal system of medicine management, and finally extended to the range of the whole medical care system in China. Though we aren't able to see obvious improvements for now, government funded researches and some reforming actions are being taken. At least it has made a difference, and difference may lead to an improvement. (后面还可以稍微再总结一下)

However, it should be noticed that in most situations scandals are being related more specifically to a person himself or herself, not for the purpose of social improvements. In the 5th season of the famous movie of "24 hours" produced by 20th Century Fox, Heller, secretary of the defense, provided with the evidence of President Logan being involved in the assassination of former president Palmer, choosed to negotiate with Logan of resigning, instead of holding him to the attorney general. Though Logan's involvement of assassination couldn't be defined as a "scandal" as it hasn't been known by public, it would be if Logan refused to resign. Of course, Heller's request on Logan may have a good purpose of not jeopadizing the integrity of the US government, but it could well served other kinds of purposes too. Such "potential" scandals are so powerful and actually being used as chips. Even in the example of China medical system, the scandals wasn't for the purpose of improving the situation as well. (中间24hours的例子稍微有点冗长了的感觉,可以稍微精简一下)

For common people, a scandal may be more destructive than in the big shots, since big shots have the power of clarifying the fabricated scandals which common people don't have. And most contactants with the victim wouldn't be eager to verify if such scandals exist or not. Thus it would be easy to jeopadizing one's fame just by repeating the same story for enough times, as an old saying in Chinese(and I paraphrase), once three different men claim there is tiger just around the village, there is a tiger. No matter the story is true or not, or the victim has clarified their innocence or not, his or her fame is undermined inevitably. (这段和上面接的有点不是很紧,有点突兀的感觉)

To sum up, scandals could be doing good to the society, could be a source of improvements. In this aspect I agree the statement of scandals being useful. But such benefits are mostly indirect effects and not the basic element of scandal itself. I think it similar more or less to nuclear weapon, which was intended to massacre but at last indirectly leads to such a long time of peace human-beings hadn't enjoyed during any period of history before. Scandals were not for the purpose of improving the society but indirectly leads to it.

恩,感觉LZ的issue写的很好,语言上我看不出什么问题,比我的要好很多,模板化的话这篇没有明显的痕迹. 不过如果能更紧的围绕主题展开回更好.请继续加油哦.

坐火车去纽约UID：2226194

24小时第五季里面的情节楼主都用上了...

真不知道这样的例子说服力如何...