Alex And America. Hate It Or Love It?

[Almighty Colin]

Originally posted by gigi@Mar 4 2003, 12:45 PM
HAHAHA, what a GREAT class!! And very revealing....

Soo, in the end, what did that class mean to you? What did you learn about debating? (other than the obvious) Did it change the way you debate? How you see debating? Did it ultimately negate the act of debating for you?

Very intriguing indeed....

Great question. I think I've learned much more from messageboards than I ever learned previously. We are all experts here!

For me, THE important question is "Why debate?"

To appear clever, to jostle in some strange mysterious pecking order, to win?

None of these things are worth anything in the end. They don't make you a better person and you probably can't win anyway. The whole point about a good debate is that two people have strong beliefs and strong reasons for them. Debating will usually solidify our resolve. It seldom weakens it. I think we are all familiar with having a knock-down, drag-out debate with someone and then thinking "what is WRONG with them?" Over a long period of time though, we sometimes slowly start to realize that some of what they were saying actually made sense.

So for me, I want to start down that process as soon as possible. Quickly ask .. Why do they think that? Where are they coming from? Are they less biased than I? Did they fluster me?
Frustrate me? Is my knowledge weak? Did they surprise me?

For me, the most exciting part of a debate is when someone presents something, either a morsel of knowledge or a thought, that I haven't heard before. At this point I must ask "Does this change my opinion"? If yes, I win. That was the goal in the first place. If no, I learned something anyway. I win again.

I think it is imperative, even noble, to present one's best argument and defense. Anticipate your "opponent's" best moves if possible. Only in this way will your "adversary" pull out all the stops and maybe somewhere find a backdoor into your mind.