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Why debating sucks
09-26-2019, 04:26 PM
I have come to think that debate is agnostic to truth; it is a contest of rhetorical skill, no more or less.
“We can never undo what we have done. We can never go back in time. We write history with our decisions and our actions. But we also write history with our responses to those actions. We can leave the pain and the damage in our wake, unattended, or we can do the work of acknowledging and fixing, to whatever extent possible, the harm that we have caused.”
— On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Danya Ruttenberg
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RE: Why debating sucks
09-26-2019, 04:32 PM
Oh, of course it is. Debate clubs and societies routinely select the sides of a question at random; teams are supposed to be able to argue either side regardless of the proposition's truth or untruth.
-- Bob
I have been Roland, Beowulf, Achilles, Gilgamesh, Clark Kent, Mary Sue, DJ Croft, Skysaber. I have been
called a hundred names and will be called a thousand more before the sun grows dim and cold....
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RE: Why debating sucks
09-26-2019, 10:25 PM
Yeah, pretty much what Bob said. This is why the more altruistic among the Democrats (and even a few Republicans!) have had so much trouble getting ahead: it's very difficult to sell the truth when the lie is far easier to swallow. Never mind the consequences - that's another topic altogether! </s>
