Guest dopetown Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 Political freedoms are best appreciated in those countries where they do not exist. Explain what the above statement means to you. Describe a specific situation in which political freedoms might be appreciated in a country where such freedoms do exist. Discuss what you think determines whether political freedoms are best appreciated in countries where such freedoms are denied or where they exist. I'm thinking the Berlin Wall is a good thesis example. The wall was erected in 1961 by East Germany to prevent emigration from their authoritarian government and Soviet-style command economy. During the wall's upkeep, roughly 5000 people successfully crossed the wall into West Germany, and roughly 200 people were killed in their attempt to cross. Clearly, this is a sign that many people in East Germany valued a democratic parliamentary governement more than their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dopetown Posted May 22, 2006 Report Share Posted May 22, 2006 What would you folks define as "political freedoms?" What kind of government would you classify as "politically free" and why? More importantly, what are some examples where political freedoms might be appreciated in a country where such freedoms do exist? I guess "appreciated" has to be used in the same manner and context as it was in the thesis statement. edit: I got my Berlin Wall details from Wikipedia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest heho Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Maybe I have misunderstood, but the Berlin Wall example seems to be the opposite of what I THINK they are asking for. It says, an example of where freedoms were appreciated where they DO exist... ie. present an opposing example to the thesis statement. In East Germany, they appreciated the "freedom" of WEST Germany... This freedom did not exist in East Germany... So this example supports the thesis (provided that you can prove that these freedoms were MORE appreciated in East than in West Germany)... it does not, however, provide an example like the one requested. I THINK... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GundamDX Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 meh dont dwell on these details everyone can define the topic as they wish... and it's great to give concrete historic examples, but COMPLETELY NOT NECCESSARY. I got a "R" and I never really use current events/ historic events to back up my arguments. Not to boast or anything, just want to scare off people who are new to the WS. I used to think that yeah it does take good english and tons of knowledge on current events to do good in WS... but Kaplan taught me otherwise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dopetown Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 What exactly are you saying the Berlin Wall is applicable to? The East wasn't "free" in the context of the issue, and the West was free. People in the East demonstrated their appreciation for freedom when they risked and gave their lives in attempt to gain freedom by escaping from the East and into the West. Relatively few people in the west risked and gave their lives to help the people from the East cross into the West. Since freedom was a major difference between East and West, those who do not have freedom appreciate it much more than those who do. Of course, "freedom" and "appreciation" would have to be defined clearly. You said "maybe I have misunderstood, but the Berlin Wall example seems to be the opposite of what I THINK they are asking for." The statement is asking for two things. Which one are you referring to? How would you use the Berlin Wall example in your essay? I'm assuming you're disagreeing with me. edit: Gundam, how did you score an R if used not good English? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jochi1543 Posted May 30, 2006 Report Share Posted May 30, 2006 Having grown up in a communist country, let me shed some light - it's not the political freedoms, it's the $$$. It's nice to have free speech, but when you don't have food on your table, it's far from being on your priority list. So I personally would really focus my essay on questioning the statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GundamDX Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 hey dopetown, I mean that you dont have to use really big words and complicated sentenses... I was never good at essay writing in university I think as long as you make clear arguments, you can score well. DX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest heho Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 Hey, dopetown, what I was saying was that the case of E/W Germany is not an example of: "Describe a specific situation in which political freedoms might be appreciated in a country where such freedoms do exist." ...because of the key phrase "in a country where such freedoms DO exist". The case of Berlin is an example of appreciation of political freedom in a country where it does NOT exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dopetown Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Ah, I see where you went wrong heho. I said "I'm thinking the Berlin Wall is a good thesis example," meaning an example that supports the statement, which deals with countries which are arguably not free. I'm actually having trouble thinking of a good antithesis example. Maybe you can help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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