Ian WhiteThe Not So Great Debate
November 29th 2010 02:35
Category: No Category
Remember the old presidential debates? Used to be hours of articulate and civilized discourse. Now? It's two sides spending about an hour pandering to their dumbed down base, avoiding questions, and talking over one another. It's not just politics though, the art of the debate seems to have been lost along with general literacy. You see it all the time online. Thought provoking topics on messageboards reduced to school yard name calling. Youtube comment sections always digressing to race bashing. It's really pathetic, like the long and tedious debate I went through earlier.
The problem with debates these days is that instead of getting as close to eye to eye as possible, one or both participants retreat so far that they can't hear the other over the sound of their own shouting. So due to this pressing concern, allow me to provide some guidlines for a successful debate.
Everything Cannot be Debated
You cannot debate religion. This is probably the most popular topic of discourse but also the most pointless. At the center of religion is God, something that can't be proven or disproven, nor can it actually be defined. Also sorry to say (not really) religion is not based in logic. People that argue for Religion are contradicting themselves. You can't argue for a system that is faith based against a system that is fact based. The religious also can't be tolerant of all religion as long as it is their own. Intelligent design should not be taught in Biology if you aren't willing to include Buddhism or Islam or Scientology, or Satanism, etc. Thus why religion belongs in a theological classroom, not a science one. This goes with anything that is just plain stupid, i.e. does fire burn you, are cigarettes bad, etc.
How to Debate
Do not shout: Contrary to popular belief, being louder does not make your argument any better. It actually makes it worse and deteriorates the discussion into a screaming match.
Listen: Do not listen for your turn to talk, listen to what the other person is saying so that you may respond intelligenty. If person A says "The military is neeeded right now, but we need to spend less on defense" and person B says that person A hates freedom and supports terrorism. Person B is a republican and/or an idiot.
Know your topic: This may seem obvious but many don't follow this. If you don't know the topic, stay out of it until you do. You can't discuss history if you think Columbus discovered America and have never heard of the Spanish Inquisition.
Don't be afraid to concede: The point of a debate isn't necessarily to win, it is to shed light on a topic with somebody you disagree with. If you happen to see that you are wrong after hearing the other side's arguments, then don't keep going.
Just following these simple guidelines will do WONDERS for the current debate scene. You many not be Frederick Douglass, but you don't have to sound like a conservative senior citizen at a Healthcare townhall either.
The problem with debates these days is that instead of getting as close to eye to eye as possible, one or both participants retreat so far that they can't hear the other over the sound of their own shouting. So due to this pressing concern, allow me to provide some guidlines for a successful debate.
Everything Cannot be Debated
You cannot debate religion. This is probably the most popular topic of discourse but also the most pointless. At the center of religion is God, something that can't be proven or disproven, nor can it actually be defined. Also sorry to say (not really) religion is not based in logic. People that argue for Religion are contradicting themselves. You can't argue for a system that is faith based against a system that is fact based. The religious also can't be tolerant of all religion as long as it is their own. Intelligent design should not be taught in Biology if you aren't willing to include Buddhism or Islam or Scientology, or Satanism, etc. Thus why religion belongs in a theological classroom, not a science one. This goes with anything that is just plain stupid, i.e. does fire burn you, are cigarettes bad, etc.
How to Debate
Do not shout: Contrary to popular belief, being louder does not make your argument any better. It actually makes it worse and deteriorates the discussion into a screaming match.
Listen: Do not listen for your turn to talk, listen to what the other person is saying so that you may respond intelligenty. If person A says "The military is neeeded right now, but we need to spend less on defense" and person B says that person A hates freedom and supports terrorism. Person B is a republican and/or an idiot.
Know your topic: This may seem obvious but many don't follow this. If you don't know the topic, stay out of it until you do. You can't discuss history if you think Columbus discovered America and have never heard of the Spanish Inquisition.
Don't be afraid to concede: The point of a debate isn't necessarily to win, it is to shed light on a topic with somebody you disagree with. If you happen to see that you are wrong after hearing the other side's arguments, then don't keep going.
Just following these simple guidelines will do WONDERS for the current debate scene. You many not be Frederick Douglass, but you don't have to sound like a conservative senior citizen at a Healthcare townhall either.
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