<p>I know the thread is now closed, but I just spent 25 minutes of my life that I can never get back writing an essay, and I want to post it anyway.</p>
<p>BTW, steamedrice, I want to have your babies 
This thread has been very helpful to me.</p>
<p>PROMPT: (from Blue Book #3)
Is conscience a more powerful motivator than money, fame, or power?</p>
<p>Many people would argue that conscience is stronger than selfish motives. However, there are a multitude of historical and literary examples that take the opposite view. Because of self-serving desires like power and money, people have chosen the path of personal gain over the common good many times. Saruman from Lord of the Rings and Benedict Arnold are prime examples of this trend.</p>
<p>In Lord of the Rings, Saruman was a slave to his desire for power - even going so far as to imprison his old friend Gandalf to win it. Turning on his previous ideals, the former Saruman the White became very dark indeed during his service to Sauron, the Lord of Mordor. Saruman raised, armed, and trained an army of Orcs to attack Rohan to eliminate a threat to his dominance - almost suceeding. Putting his own amibition for power over the good of Middle Earth and all its people, Saruman suppressed his conscience.</p>
<p>Not needing power, but instead wanting money, Benedict Arnold choose to betray the struggling United States during the Revolutionary War. He believed that the US underpaid and underappreciated him; therefore, he turned mercenary and pleged to Britian. By doing this, Arnold abandoned the soldiers he commanded, the cause of independence, and his own conscience. When he changed blue for red, Arnold was forever lost to his former countrymen. Money, in this case, was obviously worth more to Arnold than the common good he was fighting for.</p>
<p>Thus, money and power often seduce people away from their consciences. This is proven every time a bribe is taken, a test cheated on, or a tax form altered. Saruman and Arnold both lost in the end, but there are many others who win. For the right price, anything - anyone - can be bought.</p>
<p>There. That’s another five minutes of my limited lifespan gone :D</p>