18. The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority.

18. The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority.

Agree:
- Prevent ascension of authority to a supreme power.
Ex: Hitler

- Following World War I, many Germans were depressed and looked to Hitler for guidance. His charismatic oratory won over the people so that a cultlike following developed in which the nation willingly follow his plans, including the horrors that would later be known as the Holocaust.

- Allows for the exposure of scandals and the necessary reforms.
Ex: The Watergate scandal in the 70s resulted from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in D.C. and the Nixon administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement. The scandal led Congress passing legislation making changes in rules for campaign financing as well as the amendment of the Freedom of Information Act in 1974. There was also the development of new financial disclosure by key government officials, such as the Ethics in Government Act.

Ex: Michael Bellesiles, a historian at Emory University in Atlanta, won the Bancroft Prize, a prize for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas, in 2001 but is now fighting charges of “fraud” and “intentional deception.” He wrote a paper that stated the onset of Civil War and the rapid growth of the arms industry gave birth to the American gun culture. If true, this would undercut the myth of the important role of the American “minuteman” in American political theory. The real scandal is the willing gullibility of ideological reviewers and academic historians. It focused attention on the fragility of peer review. 

Disagree:
- Creates issues with getting things done.

- Can cause problems when many different groups are questioning authority (i.e., have their own agendas.)

- Depends on how people question authority.
Ex: The Occupy Wall Street movement began to protest the inequalities between the rich and the poor as well as the alleged crime committed by Wall Streeters and the U.S. financial system. On New Year's Eve, as the New York City protesters went to overtake Zuccotti Park, one protester attacked a police officer with scissors, sending the officer to the hospital. A leaderless movement, OWS has not stated its main goals or demands and has actually accomplished little in terms of actual reform.