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

Scandals are indeed a great thing. They are the seed of change in society. Society is so busy going after its business that it has no time to pay attention to some of the issues or problems it faces. However, when these issues result in scandals, the attention of the public is caught, inspiring public interest into the situation. This encourages an enlightment on the issue and brings about good public discourse and contribution in addressing such issues. It also puts pressure on government and policy makers and society at large to make changes which may not happen under normal circumstances.

When the radios and TV come flashing with breaking news of allegations of corruption and misconduct in government, the public pays attention. Such scandals creates public awareness on the inner world of government which the public has no knowledge of. Abuse of tax payer’s money, and human rights, which may have been unknown to the public are brought to light. This sparks public interest on these issues which causes people to seek more knowledge or information regarding the issues in question. During this course, society has become more enlightened on its affairs. In fact scandals is the means by which society becomes aware of the beaucracies and protocols that characterize its governance. Americans would not know about the Guatanamo Bay if their was no scandal about the alleged abuses practiced used at such detention camps. Nor would they have known of the use of drones but for the scandals generated by drone attacks. Scandals are the only way of getting public interested in the boring details of governance and society. With a better informed public, society is in a better position to address such issues and make right decisions.

It is true that scandals distort the nature of issues. With media “sound bites,” situations are sometimes exaggerated. But the beauty of scandals is that it generates public debate and discourse on issues. Though situations maybe exaggerated, when the public interest is caught, people investigate and make research into these situations and can make truth out of the noise and exaggerations of the media. With a diverse media, each taking different sides on a situation, the public is better enlightened on situations even though elements of falsehood may still persist.

However,scandals at times digress the attention of the public from other important issue. Scandals about actors and musicians gather public attention shielding interest from other pertinent issue that society ought to address. The death or murder trial of a hip hop artist may unfortunately overshadow the attention to humanitarian disasters, like a hurricane in some part of the country.