GMAT Preparation Sample Essay AWA
History is mainly objective, written by historians, who write down the truth as factually as possible. Three examples of the objectivity of historians and the lack of ability of dominant powers in politics and religion to rewrite history show that though dominant powers try to project events for their own benefit, historians will objectively write the truth.
While there are examples of communist and dictators that have a corp of press people to rewrite history to make the dictator look good, true historians present the facts. For example, in North Korea, the dictator in the country doesn't tell people in his country the truth. When he went to visit China, he told the press to tell the people that he was on vacation or traveling around in North Korea. It was only after a train accident related to a bomb in a train tunnel that China's newspapers told the world that Kim Jong Il was actually visiting China and had passed through the tunnel a few hours before the explosion. This case illustrates that in today's world, even if strong powers try to frame events, the truth will come out and the attempts to project an image will be thwarted if the image is not true.
There may be different opinions on how to interpret the actions of individuals and the results, but if dominant powers try to shape events, historians will write down the truth. In politics, President Bush may do something that is frowned upon by the press. The press may write nasty things about President Bush because they don't like him and want to spread angst and unhappiness among people. President Bush may communicate reasons for doing the things he does. It takes years to see how the results of President Bush's foreign and economic policies fit into history. Great presidents are determined to be great by historians years after they served.
For example, with the Bible and Christ, or any historical document, if a group of Christians in AD 50 started writing that Christ did things that he did not do, eye witnesses would say that the writings were incorrect and the credibility of the writings would be tarnished. Josephus said that Christ was alive, was a wise teacher, and was probably the Messiah. If a dominant power today tried to reframe events, the press or historians would correct them in a free country.
It is possible to sift information, as Professor Reinhardt from Princeton describes, adults learn to sift, sort information felicitously, to show the information one wants other people to know about. Companies sift information so that the public only knows the positive news about a company. With Eliot Spitzer as attorney general in New York, try as they might, when Eliot Spitzer's people start doing research on an organization, if there was wrongdoing, they track it down. The Bible says "Be sure your sin will find you out." So even though corporate chieftains try to hide it when they do something wrong, eventually people will find out and their misdeeds will be brought to light. That is why it is better to tell the truth and be honest so that you have nothing to hide and can sleep better at night.
Politicians and corporate executives try to "spin" news to make themselves and their companies look good. This is natural. This is also one of the reasons we have a free press in America. So that journalists and individuals can write about and discuss events so that people know the truth. It may be argued that the press is slightly more liberal than conservative, but there are voices that will express different viewpoints and debate about the actions of the dominant powers so that the history books will explain what really happened.
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