I tried to begin my essay in a more lively way this time but worried about whether it would be regarded informal and unsuitable for GRE. What do you think about it?
Thanks in advance.
Topic: "It is often necessary, even desirable, for political leaders to withhold information from the public."
Oh, my God! There are actually thousands of aliens living on our planet. Even though they are just among us under their human-like mechanical or biological bodies, we do not recognize them at all because the government withholds that truth from us. That is what depicted in the Hollywood movie--Man in Black. Despite it is just a science fiction movie, the fact that government always conceals some information from the public is worthy of a deep reflection. In my view, withholding some information from the public is reasonable; however, it cannot be concealed freely. Most information, which is directly relevant to the well-being of the people, should be exposed to the public.
Just as many movies depicted, some information, if revealed to the public, may bring the society in to danger. Let's put away these extreme plots in science fictions: the government concealed the facts of aliens at the same time, "men in black" protected people furtively, thus the citizens living a peaceful life with no idea about the earth was nearly destroyed just a minute ago. In the real world, some information is indeed better not to reveal. Telling the truth is not always helpful; it depends on what the truth is and to whom it is told. For an individual, it is often dangerous to tell your phone number and address to a stranger, so it is the same with the government. For example, military secrets can only be known by a few officials. Only foreign spies want it to be opposed to the public. There are also some details, like the president's travel plan and anti-terrorist strategy, which assassinators and terrorists want to know most, not allowed to be released. This kind of information cannot do or do little good to the well-being of the citizens, but can be used by foreign hostile countries or the anti-society persons. It is rational to hidden these information.
However, if government hides information improperly, it will undermine the democratic system as well as the well-being of the people. For a democratic government, its policy and plans should be based on the opinions of its people. Hiding information for politicians' own purpose is an autocratic behavior which can probably results in the loss of belief in the politicians and even in the government. Consider the Watergate scandal. If President Nixon did not to conceal his role in this scandal but apologized to the public, maybe the people will forgive him and therefore he would not have to leave the White House with shame. It took years for the government to re-gain public trust after the Watergate Scandal. So that is the result of the hiding what should not be hidden. Another recent case happened in China. In 2003, SARS suddenly swept over some of China's southern cities, leaving people and doctors unprepared. Later investigation showed that in fact, this epidemic did not transmit so quickly and suddenly. It was because some local officials withhold the information for the fear of loss of tourism. If this information was immediately revealed to the public, many lives could be saved and there would be less economic losses.
In sum, whether it is right for government to conceal information depends on what kind of information it is. For those which relate close to people's lives, government has no right to conceal it. Besides, I strongly believe that government should always think twice before deciding to conceal a piece of information.
Thanks in advance.
Topic: "It is often necessary, even desirable, for political leaders to withhold information from the public."
Oh, my God! There are actually thousands of aliens living on our planet. Even though they are just among us under their human-like mechanical or biological bodies, we do not recognize them at all because the government withholds that truth from us. That is what depicted in the Hollywood movie--Man in Black. Despite it is just a science fiction movie, the fact that government always conceals some information from the public is worthy of a deep reflection. In my view, withholding some information from the public is reasonable; however, it cannot be concealed freely. Most information, which is directly relevant to the well-being of the people, should be exposed to the public.
Just as many movies depicted, some information, if revealed to the public, may bring the society in to danger. Let's put away these extreme plots in science fictions: the government concealed the facts of aliens at the same time, "men in black" protected people furtively, thus the citizens living a peaceful life with no idea about the earth was nearly destroyed just a minute ago. In the real world, some information is indeed better not to reveal. Telling the truth is not always helpful; it depends on what the truth is and to whom it is told. For an individual, it is often dangerous to tell your phone number and address to a stranger, so it is the same with the government. For example, military secrets can only be known by a few officials. Only foreign spies want it to be opposed to the public. There are also some details, like the president's travel plan and anti-terrorist strategy, which assassinators and terrorists want to know most, not allowed to be released. This kind of information cannot do or do little good to the well-being of the citizens, but can be used by foreign hostile countries or the anti-society persons. It is rational to hidden these information.
However, if government hides information improperly, it will undermine the democratic system as well as the well-being of the people. For a democratic government, its policy and plans should be based on the opinions of its people. Hiding information for politicians' own purpose is an autocratic behavior which can probably results in the loss of belief in the politicians and even in the government. Consider the Watergate scandal. If President Nixon did not to conceal his role in this scandal but apologized to the public, maybe the people will forgive him and therefore he would not have to leave the White House with shame. It took years for the government to re-gain public trust after the Watergate Scandal. So that is the result of the hiding what should not be hidden. Another recent case happened in China. In 2003, SARS suddenly swept over some of China's southern cities, leaving people and doctors unprepared. Later investigation showed that in fact, this epidemic did not transmit so quickly and suddenly. It was because some local officials withhold the information for the fear of loss of tourism. If this information was immediately revealed to the public, many lives could be saved and there would be less economic losses.
In sum, whether it is right for government to conceal information depends on what kind of information it is. For those which relate close to people's lives, government has no right to conceal it. Besides, I strongly believe that government should always think twice before deciding to conceal a piece of information.