4. Scandals are useful because they focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could.

The issue as to whether scandals are beneficial to the development of our society or not is quite controversial. Some argue that scandals are detrimental and furtive because they intrude the privacies of celebrities and ultimately deteriorate their lives. And also, scandals are sometimes used by politicians or media to distract public’s attention from the important political issues. Nevertheless, scandals serve salubrious functions in modern society because it drives general public to speak out their voices on the current issues and its impact is strong enough to correct the wrongdoings of involved persons or institutions.

Of course, the detrimental effects of unsubstantiated scandals and gossips should not be overlooked. For instance, gossips on celebrities are often groundless and sometimes they are intentionally invented by baleful schemers to denounce the involved persons’ reputation. Perhaps the famous pop star, Michael Jackson would have enjoyed longevity if he had not been suffered from nasty gossips, which resulted in his dependence on overdosed sleep medication to soothe the emotional distress.

Nevertheless, scandals still serve constructive functions when revealing corrupted actions of those who are in the leadership positions. Even those who have political power and control over media could be the subject of scandals, and this helps to accomplish the true justice in society. For instance, the famous Watergate scandal revealed that the Nixon presidency had been involved in serious manipulation and abuse of power for years. This revelation brought about then president Richard Nixon’s resignation in August of 1974. This event showed that even president of one nation who has the superiority and the most powerful political influence is not above the law and the United States Constitution. Without the collective power of scandals, the expelling of abusive president would not have been possible.

In addition, scandals not only serve as collective public power on domestic issues but also serve to monitor the international institutions and non-governmental organizations. For instance, in May 2015, a lot of FIFA senior officials were arrested by the United States justice department for the suspicion of accepting bribery. Just before the arrest, there were scandals on the selection process of the hosting nation for 2018 and 2022 World Cup, which allegedly contended that a significant portion of senior leaders in FIFA had accepted kickbacks from candidate nations for the favors of their winning. Due to the general public’s pressure caused by scandal, the investigation on the whole organization could be initiated and the misuse of powers in the organization could be revealed. Thus, scandal served as a detonator for the US justice department’s jurisdictional action to accomplish justice.

In sum, scandals are useful because they have enough power to reform the society and to reinforce the justice. Celebrities and persons who are in political leadership positions would be wary not to be in the center of the controversy, and thus it would serve as preventative measure for future wrongdoings of such people. However, at the same time, we should not overlook the possibilities of baleful scandals to destroy one person’s life and career.