Voltaire’s Argument Essay Examples

Intro paragraph example #1...

Society has always struggled with the 

issue of right and wrong; it is a historical

moral battle that every human faces.

Countless times throughout history there

have been circumstances where the

government or authority has become flawed

and each citizen must decide to go along

with it or stand up to it....

The world has seen dictators like Stalin and

Mao who killed anyone who opposed their

rule. The world has seen peaceful leaders

like Ghandi and MLK assassinated because

of their opposition to the government.

Voltaire is right in that it is dangerous to be

right when the established authorities are

wrong.

n Example #2... 

When Hitler exterminated 6 million people no one stood up against him. [...] No one stood up against the corrupted authorities because it is extremely dangerous to stand up and be right when the authorities are wrong. This danger is evident in historical and literary examples....

Example #3

History supports that opposing

authoritative ideas is most often a

dangerous task. Figures such as Ghandi,

and MLK Jr., who not only refuted

government policy but persuaded others to

do so as well, were subjected to personal

attacks and were both ultimately

assassinated...

...Leader of the USSR for several decades,

Stalin presents the other perspective of

frustrated authority in dealing with

insubordinance; Stalin killed all who

opposed his ideas. Henceforth, it can be

proven that opposing authority is dangerous

and courageous.

First sentence #1...

From the communist witch hunts of the

McCarthy era to the book burning of

Fahrenheit 451, and every where in

between, people with different opinions are

always found and destroyed.

First sentence #2...

Voltaire’s claim states that it is dangerous

to be right in matters which the established

authorities are wrong.

First sentence #3...

Voltaire’s famously said that “It is dangerous to be right in matters about which the established authorities are wrong.” This statement has remained true even to this day, in a world that is generally considered civilized...”

First sentence #4...

Nonconformity equates suicide.

Thesis...

When established authorities are wrong it

is dangerous to be right.