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PROMPT: "Some people believe that in order to be effective, political leaders must yield to public opinion and abandon principle for the sake of compromise. Others believe that the most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives." ==> Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented. As Machiavelli once observed, men are fickle. Though these words were not uttered explicitly by Machiavelli himself, rather by an interpreter of Machiavelli, the premise holds true as a problem in politics. Particularly during election time, the validity of a candidate's stance on an issue, is often the time with which they have held their position. However, demanding an unchanging will from a person is naive. The problems presented in modern society have real repercussions for real populations of people, new evidence is portrayed continuously to give more perspective on problems, and diversity increases with time as modernity offers a more open global citizenship. Though politicians are often regarded as wavering and pandering when they change their political stances, there are more subtle nuances to many issues that are often left unaddressed at the dias. Politicians are often pressured to swing one way in the dichotomy between the left and right, but part of being a leader is taking the time to understand which principles and policies affect which populations. An issue that was highlighted in the previous presidential election was that of vaccination. Though on the surface, vaccination is a seemingly partisan issue, the populations affected by this problem are ubiquitous across this nation. The presence of vaccination, has historically culminated in an average increase in life span and a decrease in child mortality. In addition, politicians should find flexibility in their policy-making imperative because of new information that is available from studies. Correlations are often assigned to variables by mistake not for the nefarious deed of pressing an idea forward, but rather because we lacked proper knowledge of the paradigms and factors that were truly affecting an outcome. One example of a false correlation is the archaic premise that polio was caused by ice cream. Prior to the discovery of the polio virus and its vaccine, many thought that polio was caused by ice cream consumption because polio incidences often rose during the summer time. However, after more knowledge about viruses came about, and eventually vaccines for polio came about, it was clear with new evidence that ice cream consumption increase was completely independent from the incident of polio incidence rise in children. Finally, politicians- left, right, or moderate- are people with their own lives and experiences above all else. Though there are politicians who are known as staunch Republicans or Democrats represented throughout history, people change. In this increasingly global biosphere, each individual will face an increasing range of diversity each decade thanks to: air travel, the internet, increasing heterogeneity of populations. With each experience and exposure to different ideas will come changes in opinion. Without the influx of new ideas forming changes, we would not have the society in which we live today. Tea came from China and traversed the globe into every single continent. The Germanic grammar structure met many a Latin root to form the complex and nuanced language that Vladimir Nabakov himself learned because of its deference to the complexity of the human condition. In conclusion, expecting politicians to hold steadfast to ideals that they have made at the inception of their careers is myopic. The issues that face Americans today are complex and effect real people with real lives. New evidence is mounted daily in the progressing time line of historical life. And each new finding and experience lived will undoubtledly affect individuals as our society itself relies on the tides of change for progress and innovation.

Hello everyone, I have been practicing some GRE tests for several days, and I would need some feedback so as to realize if I have made some progress (or not). I took a mock GRE exam yesterday with the following issue "Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and to disobey and resist unjust laws." I would be really grateful if someone could have a look at what I wrote on the subject. Best, Charles While many protest mouvements have pushed people to get to the street in the last decade, one can observe that people’s capacity of revolting against unfair laws is still (at?) the foundation of democracy. Laws and regimes can change many times, evolve every year, but what is fair abides by superior principles that stay quite the same as the years go by. It leads us to ask the question of people’s responsibility to distinguish between lawful and fair laws, as the given claim clearly assumes there is a difference between these two notions, and I totally agree with this necessary discrepancy. When observing the amelioration of people’s rights in France after the French revolution, it is obvious that this responsibility is at the heart of our modern developed societies. I think that Every law-abiding citizen should be aware, and endlessly endeavor to understand the laws and to make out what is fair from what is simply lawful (and could change in some time). It is for example a principle in France’s judiciary system : « One should not ignore the law. ». This principle gives responsibility to the people as they do not have the right to hide behind their ignorance when committing an infraction. Besides, this responsibility can even turn into a duty when times get darker, when one has to defend its rights, what he considers to be fair and that a regime or a law prevents him from being free to do. During French Occupation, some people realized they were responsible for defending their freedom and resisted this terrible regime. They even had to put their lives at risk so as to defend their basic rights. However, one should not consider this responsibility as a gift : it has to be smartly used, by well-taught citizens. Otherwise, protests become habits and every future revendication looks like some spoiled children’s demand. Using this right too much, when it is not necessary, can make the revendications lose their meaning. It also has to be used the right way, as using violence is definitely not always the answer : one can witness the hell-like situation going on in Syria at the moment. To conclude, I think it is necessary that every citizen be aware of this responsibility he or she gets when living in one of our modern developed society. However, one should not take this right for granted, always defend it when threatened, and use it the right way to as to be sure it keeps the same meaning.