Posted on 04/24/2009 7:30:06 PM PDT by erkyl
Please forgive my indulgent vanity here, but I thought it would be fun for my tea party friends to hear about my experience this evening.
I am a paid debate judge for many district and regional tournaments in North Texas. This year's Texas Lincoln Douglas Debate topic for the state competition (UIL) is whether or not bailouts for major corporations are just. This has made for rather lively entertainment for me as I have heard a great deal of misinformation being spewed from the mouths of these young high school students from time to time. However, tonight I heard an excellent debate in which the negative position upheld his side by arguing the importance of the principles of democracy and that it is more just for our government representatives to be upholding the will of the people. He cited information including 81% of Americans did not want the bail outs, but the government did them anyway. In cross examination, his opponent started talking about how if people didn't like what the government was doing, then they should rise up and overthrow their government (ahhh, now there's an idea...). And the young man replied, "that's what the tea party movement has been doing, they have been upset about the bailouts and they are protesting the government, but the representatives aren't listening and they are not representing the people." Then the affirmative started spouting the party line--people don't know what's good for them, doesn't the government have an obligation to look out for the people who don't know everything. (Little did he know who he was talking to.)
I voted for the negative, of course, but mainly because he provided better argumentation. But I made sure to mention on the ballot that the notion that our government must make decisions for us that we can't make for ourselves is tyranny, and not representative government, and therefore is not just.
How well recieved was the argument for the tea party supporters and their movement?
Actually, the affirmative debater accepted the response and immediately changed his direction of questioning. In other words, a win for the negative debater. What could he say? He said if people didn’t like what their government was doing, they should overthrow the government. And the response from his opponent was that was exactly what was happening with the tea parties. :-)
There’s hope for the future after all.
Awesome.
It’s good to know that there are some who can reason and persuade with facts out there.
I was president of my college debate team. Things seem to have changed from the time I debated. If the negative could prove that the affirmative’s proposal was unconstitutional or might lead to the brink of nuclear war, the affirmative would lose.
These days, there seems to be a lot going on that seems unconstitutional and a lot that might lead to the brink of nuclear war.
Well done. Bravo.
As a retired debate coach in the metroplex area, it was good to hear that there are some “clear thinking” debate judges still around. In my final years of coaching, I was not too happy with the state of “judging”. However, I still maintain that competitive debate is the best thing in public education to teach critical thinking skills. Kudoos to you for your comments on the ballot! And I bet, you were a great high school debater!
Proof that the D'RATS program of dumbing America down is taking hold. We are raising a generation of Nannystaters. What a waste.
The TEA parties are a great start, but we are in for a 5-10 year battle. Strategy: http://pushbackuntil.com.
Be in D.C. to Push Back Until! No one but we, the people, will be able to save our country from an inept Congress.
The next step for the Tea Parties should be OPERATION LAME DUCK... focus on hammering Dems and RINOS up for election in 2010 - freeze them ‘in place’ with total fear of not being re-elected...
I don’t have to explain it to you guys — as I have to - to others...
From this day forward - rally calls, faxes and emails ...
Ahhhh, the old Jeremy Rifken beef, deforestation, growth, population explosion = nuclear war attack. The irony is that we're still here, and the same people are still saying the same bs.
is taking = has taken
are raising = have raised
The dumbing down has been happening for more than 40 years if not earlier. This has been a concerted effort with a multi-generational vision, which leads me to believe it has some spiritual roots. The move of liberals into teaching institutions for control was a calculated necessity. Can't shut up the opposition if they're familiar with the 1st amendment. Can't disarm the opposition if they're familiar with the 2nd amendment. Ask the average Joe on the street to recite the 10th amendment, or at least recite the topic and they look at you with a blank stare. For the ones who can give at least the topic, ask them to explain its implications.
Yes, ignorance is our most expensive commodity, and the libs have managed to "give it away" to the masses.
To win back this nation, we are going to have to be in it for the long haul. We must re-educate society, from the underdog position.
Hate to say it, but that will not work. We can no longer trust our country to 535 people in Congress. We have to mandate that the items described at http://pushbackuntil.com get passed via Constitutional amendment. We should be a nation of laws - a nation that survives not on the whim of an inept Congress that is bankrupting us. That is our only hope.
People generally tend to lose their values once they get elected - with a few exceptions. It is up to we, the people, to change that.
Be in D.C. to Push Back Until!
I say - Do Both ... I agree with the Constitutional Amendment plan - but there is both short term and long term actions available ... Freeze them in place fearing not being elected - take away one way Obama can vault himself to being Dictator. Cut out the willing Congress - cut the majority put in real Republicans and Independents - even find a few middle of the road Dems who are scared of not being re-elected...
I also agree with your assessment of our elected officials - but in the short term they fear only one thing - being barred from re-election by the voters...
You are right - we have to use ever means available. The more the better. We are in a war for the very future of the United States, and in any war you have to use every strategy you can imagine to win. That is where we are today. http://pushbackuntil.com is very specific in our goals/mandates. Only we, the people, will be able to get this done. And in the meantime, convince people to vote for conservatives and to vote out incumbents. Because the incumbents have displayed nothing but ineptness.
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