Scandalous

I have never been a fan of politics and don't plan on becoming one anytime soon. In my opinion, politics are all about popularity and are built on a foundation of lies and persuasion. I feel that majority of politicians don't truly believe in what they stand for when in the running to clinch the title that they have been campaigning for. My view of politics became more solidified after watching three full seasons of the show "Scandal". 

Although I am aware that "Scandal" is completely fictional, I can't help but think that some of the plot is based off of true events. Olivia Pope, played by Kerri Washington, is my absolute favorite character on this series. In the preliminary seasons, Olivia was so poised, responsible, and emotionally detached. She was a strong and fearless character who lead a team of "lawyers" who stood by Olivia's side through anything. Together, they are called "gladiators". As the seasons went on and new secrets were revealed, Olivia began to crack and became an emotional wreck which forced her team of "gladiators" to question their loyalty towards Olivia.

Olivia's trustworthiness was built on a web of secrets that she shared between her and her gladiators. Once her team figured out her own secret, their regime began to crumble. Olivia had been involved in an affair with the president and was also involved in a lot of behind the scene cover ups, in which, if they were revealed, the president would be impeached and Olivia would be the most talked about campaign manager in history. 

As the seasons continue, I can't help but wonder if these stories could be true and if the government hides its true identity behind its politics and campaigning. And for this reason, I am very skeptical of the government and the politics that go along with it.

Vocabulary:

popularity- favored by the public

foundation- the base of something

persuasion- force an opinion on someone

majority- most 

fictional- imaginary, not true

poised- stable

detached- divided

revealed- made known

Vocabulary Activity: Match the word with its definition.

popularity                                                          made known

foundation                                                          force an opinion on someone

persuasion                                                         most

majority                                                             stable

fictional                                                              divided

poised                                                                 base of something

detached                                                             not true

revealed                                                             favored by the public

Grammar Point: The present tense is used to locate a situation or event in present time. ex: I am tall. This sentence is not talking about how tall I will be or was, but right now.

Grammar Activity: Underline all of the verbs in the present tense.