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Please analyze my Issue Essay. GRE 2013 aspirant.


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Topic:

"PEOPLE MOST RESPECT THE POWERFUL NOT WHEN THEY EXERCISE THEIR POWER, BUT WHEN THEY REFRAIN FROM EXERCISING IT"

 

 

Write an essay in which you develop and support a position on the statement above.In writing your essay, you should consider both when the statement may be true and when it may be false.

 

 

 

 

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Power unexercised is power wasted. Over centuries people have chosen to respect and adore the powerful who have put their power to good use. Rarely has there been cases where the powerful who choose not to exercise their authority, for whatever purpose, have gotten the love and support of the common folk. Power gives the person wielding it a responsibility, and the respect it commands will come only when it is put to exercise.

History has numerous examples where authoritative figures have commanded people’s respect based on their actions. Julius Caesar was such a figure who was loved by the common folk of the Roman empire. His aspirations were realized once he exercised his powers and showed the world that he was indeed a conqueror. The people loved him for what he did, and that eventually defined who he was. His actions commanded respect and the power he exercised made those actions happen in the first place.

 

There have also been examples where power has been put to instill nothing but hatred and fear amongst the people. Adolf Hitler was also a man of action. But his actions invited the anger and hatred of generations. Scholars and common folk alike have viewed the man in contempt over what he did. Yet, as atrocious as he was, he had followers, who respected him. Such respect, as grotesque as it may seem was warranted by actions, as heinous as they might have been.

 

People respect the powerful who chose to do the right thing over the easy one. There can be instances where using power might not have worked for the common good and hence exercising such authority was withheld. An act of withholding might seem like a waste of power but inherently it showcases the responsibility involved with exercising such power.

 

Consider a starkly different example of Mahatma Gandhi, who led the freedom revolution in India against the reigning British Monarch. He started the Non-Cooperation movement in 1921 and unified an entire country to work against the reigning body. It was then when the incident of Chauri Chaura happened where a few British soldiers were immolated by an infuriated mob who were being stopped from their processions. A strictly non-violence practitioner, Gandhi called back the campaign and shocked an entire country which hadn’t seen such revolution ever before. This act earned Gandhi a lot of criticism, specifically being thought of misusing the sentiments of 40 million people and calling off the protest based on personal principles. His act, whether justified or not, shows that people choose to respect the powerful who have chosen to exercise their power.

 

In conclusion, it is evident that history has remembered those who have exercised their authority whenever it was needed. Whether it earned them the respect and adulation, or the fear and hatred depended on the person and their intentions. But there hasn’t been much scope for someone who chose to stay away from exercising their power to get the respect that wielding it might have brought.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I am not an expert.

 

I do believe you have very good vocabulary and and use a lot of examples however, for me, it was difficult to follow.

Also try to avoid using a same words over and over.

 

Hope it helps.

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