<p>This is a 25-minute essay, timed and originally written on paper. I left all the errors in. </p>
<p>Prompt: Is it important to question the ideas and decisions of people in positions of authority? </p>
<p>Although leadership is integral to the effective and efficient development of a community or a group, the authority must not wholly lie in the hands of leaders or people in positions of power. More often than not, absolute power results in the depletion of freedom and violence. In decision making, it is essential to involve everyone in the situation. As exemplified by literature and historical phenomenons, it is important to question a person in power. </p>
<p>"The Giver" by Lois Lowry exemplifies a community where authority is never questioned. The award-winning novel explores the consequences of having a government that is omnipotent and omniscient, leaving no freedom for its community members. Jonas, the protagonist, is appointed receiver of memories. The community chooses one person to hold all the memories of the past. The community has no colour, no emotions and no choice, which Jonas learns is unethical. He realizes, after receiving memories of love and of happiness that an authoritarian government like the one controlling his community must be hindered. </p>
<p>In reality, however, people cease to believe in the government once it ceases to provide the fundamental needs of the people, as the case in the French Revolution. Prior to 1789. the French absolute monarchy usurped all the money and, literally, lives of the French people. People starved and could barely pay for their own lives while taxes continued to grow mercilessly. The conditions the king, Louis VI, lived in and the conditions of the people were conspicuously polar opposites. Although the king was deemed "God On Earth", people no longer cared for they needed to live. The French Revolution, where the people revolted and executed the monarchs serve as a warning to the governments of today: there is a limit to the patience of the people when their needs are not satisfied. </p>
<p>Overall, authority should be questioned. As democracy's global success bolsters, every person in power should serve the people, who ultimately can determine the fate of the authority. </p>
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<p>Many thanks :) </p>