Sample Response with a Score of 6American society is built on the idea that people have a right to free speech. Indeed,
our country was founded in part due to the fact that the colonists were taxed by the
British crown without representation; they were never given the option to disagree
with British taxation laws, and ultimately they went to war to protest this violation.
So it might seem likely that many Americans would agree with the statement that
dissent should be encouraged in order for society to flourish, since our founding
principles are rooted firmly in this belief. I myself must agree with the statement as
well, both because of my personal values and because history reveals that this is so.
You wouldn’t have to look very far for historical data that shows that when dissent
is not allowed, society declines. One prime example of this is Soviet Russia. From
the time that the Communists took power until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1992,
the Soviet Union was a highly repressive regime. Dissent was quashed at every
turn, and propaganda was put forth to support the ideas of the Soviet leadership.
Over time, due in part to the lack of new ideas being allowed in to stimulate the
system, the Soviet economy declined to the point where citizens were miserable.
The repression of the empire was an important reason why this political unit
ultimately collapsed.
Even the United States has seen times of political repression, despite our belief
in the value of free speech. This repression has led also to fear and turmoil within
the nation. One example is the McCarthy Era that occurred in the U.S. during
the Cold War. For about 10 years at the height of the Cold War, immediately after
World War II, tensions were high between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and
potential sympathizers with communism were sought out and persecuted. Senator
Joseph McCarthy led the pursuit, interrogating thousands of citizens and civil
servants about their alleged subversive activities. The wave of terror that swept the
nation as a result kept people afraid to express themselves and has been recorded as
a dark period in our nation’s history.
Perhaps the worst example of what can happen when dissent is discouraged can
be found in Nazi Germany. Under Hitler’s rule, not only was dissent prohibited—it
was prohibited to even exist as a member of certain groups. This totalitarian regime
required the strictest allegiance to reigning political principles, going so far as to
penalize people for being born into groups other than the Aryan race. Millions of
innocent people were exterminated for not ascribing to Nazi beliefs. The genocide
that resulted under Hitler reveals the stark picture of what can happen when a
ruling ideology is upheld at the expense of all opposing ideas.
These examples show the grave results that can be expected when dissent is
discouraged or prevented by political leadership. When dissent is allowed, however,
in many cases society grows and vastly improves. The Civil Rights Era in the
United States provides an example of the results when citizens are allowed to voice
dissenting opinions. The nonviolent protests of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his
supporters were instrumental in swaying the U.S. government to adopt policies
that respected the rights of African-American citizens and upheld equal treatment
under the law. The changes brought about by these protests have taken many years
to implement and are still a work in progress, but the civil disobedience of the
1960s was instrumental in bringing about positive results.560 PART 5 ■ GRE PRACTICE TESTS05-GRE-Test-2018_463-582.indd 560 12/05/17 12:14 pm