GRE Issue Topic 51

Sample 1:

To justify an action is to make it seem just or fair. It implies that the action is done to right a wrong. It is akin to the biblical philosophy, an eye for an eye. On the other hand, two wrongs don’t make a right. Are any goals so lofty that one can justify taking any action to reach them? Is it okay to take these actions in the name of God or in the spirit of patriotism? Events of the past decade may make one believe that reprisals are justifiable.

Atrocities of such magnitude have been committed by groups or individuals around the world throughout history, that one might agree that any means used to eliminate these perpetrators is justified. In 2001, extremists Muslims used the piloting skills they had learned in a flight school in the United States to fly two passenger planes into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon, and another aimed at the White House that went crashing into a field in Pennsylvania. These events caused the war on terrorism to be a focal point of US foreign policy. It became the goal of the United States military to hunt down and kill or capture the leaders of terrorist cells around the world. Chief among those targets was Osama bin Laden. In May 2011, an elite group of Seals burst into his home and killed him. The US government presented this as an incredible accomplishment – which it was – that was worth the efforts needed to reach it. However, this is not necessarily true.

To reach this end, the United States invaded Iraq, believing that Saddam Hussein’s regime had caches of WMDs, Weapons of Mass Destruction. That turned out to be false, but, nonetheless, the military hunted down and captured Hussein, after which he was tried and executed. During this span of time, other suspected terrorists were rounded up and detained at Guantanamo Bay, a US military institution in Cuba. There, these terrorists were systematically tortured to make them reveal information about the whereabouts of terrorist cells and, likely, bin Laden himself. Among the techniques used to extract information was water boarding, a particularly inhumane process that causes its victims to feel like they are drowning. And then, there’s Abu Ghraib, a prison in Iraq, where US military personnel tortured and degraded the inmates held there. Considering the acts perpetrated by these terrorists on American soil, the actions taken by the United States appear justifiable. The flame of patriotism burned brightly and was reflected in the eyes of ordinary citizens and those called to battle. Across the country, acts of terrorism were perpetrated by those ordinary citizens against other citizens of Middle Eastern origin. Young men whose ancestors came here from countries like Syria and Lebanon generations ago were detained and strip searched at border crossings between the US and Canada. People in airports across the country looked askance at fellow passengers who looked or dressed differently. Members of the military who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing post–traumatic stress disorder in numbers greater than seen before in our military history.

If the goal is to eradicate terrorism, isn’t any action in the cause justifiable? Whenever humans are reduced to treating other human beings inhumanely, we must pause and consider the consequences of attaining this supposedly lofty goal. We must question whether any goal is worth the ultimate price one pays, especially when the actions taken are degrading or debasing to other groups of people, and the price is a loss of human dignity for the perpetrators and the victims.

Sample 2:

There is no doubt that goals are necessary for the growth of an individual and the development of the society. Every individual dreams to achieve his goal. However, to say that any means taken to attain it is justifiable is not correct. There are both positive and negative aspects of this statement. It depends on the individual whether he/she takes the positive side or the negative side. Sometimes, based upon the distinct function of the worthy goals, it appears that any means taken to achieve the purpose is justifiable. However, a balance is required considering the morality factor.

It is a common accepted fact that goals provide directions to people’s actions and make their actions more purposeful. It helps in improving the conditions of human beings and the world. Sometimes it is essential to take extreme steps in some sense; it becomes justifiable to use some extreme tackles to gain the meaningful goal. For example, independence war of India against British Empire. Usually wars are considered a serious loss to nations, however, this war was to eliminate the slavery in India and for setting true democracy in India. It is also true that the benefits of attaining the goal of this war cannot reverse the effects it had on the nation’s heart and mind. However, it cannot be ignored that it gave birth to the largest democracy of the world.

However, it cannot be said that one can use any means to achieve his goal. A very general example is that if a person has a goal to become a millionaire then it does not mean that he can attain his goal by any means. He cannot be allowed to rob a bank and say that his goal is now achieved and it is justifiable. On the other hand, if the goal for an individual is to study in the best university and if he/she works very hard to get through it and studies day and night without any concern about what people say, then this can be called justifiable. Hence, it is difficult to predict whether any goal, which a person is seeking, is worth. At times, maybe some measures would lead to a side effect and even worsen the situation.

People have to take some basic moral standards into account before taking extreme measures to fulfill their goals. In the absence of logical steps, a valuable goal loses its meaning. A worthy goal is a purpose that would benefit the entire humanity and the society. A personal goal should not be above the national or global cause. For example if you take the instance of cloning, it can achieve a peerless level in the biology science. However, all the nations are very cautious to develop this technology as cloning may lead to a chaos in ethic. Moreover, it can be misused by terrorists. Thus, you cannot justify all means of attaining a worthy goal.

Hence, an individual should consider the means, which help to achieve a worthy goal. The result should be materialistically as well as morally correct.