There is No Debate
We have seen numerous debates this campaign season with more to come. These are not debates as much as they are political theater, i.e. the CNN/YouTube “debates”, and they do very little in raising the public political discourse.
If you would like to hear real debates about important, challenging issues I recommend the Intelligence Squared-US debates. Leading thinkers on each side of a single issue are pit against each other in an Oxford-style debate format. Debates start with opening arguments where each panelist is given a chance to present their case for or against the resolution at hand. Questions then follow from the moderator as well as the audience. Finally, each panelist is allowed a brief closing statement. What I find interesting is that the audience votes whether they are for, against or undecided before the debate and then again after. The more persuasive and thus victorious side is identified by noting the changes in the before and after votes. Some of the recent debate topics have included “It’s Time to End Affirmative Action”, “Spreading Democracy in the Middle East is a Bad Idea”, and “Russia is Becoming Our Enemy Again”. These are all difficult issues that we are currently confronted with and that is what makes these debates intriguing.
I urge you to check out the Intelligence Squared-US website. NPR actually hosts the recorded audio of the debates which can be listened to or download. I find that it is perfect listening for my daily commute. Once you listen to a couple of debates you will be hooked.
[Political cartoon by Davide Horsey published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Comments
Leave a Reply