The Reality of Debate
Most issues have many, many points and counterpoints. Rarely is something so black and white that all can see the entire field clearly and take a position, one way or the other. Even then, humans are involved, so there will always be some fringe element that will reject an idea despite the fact the vast majority supports the other side. Such is life.
In today’s media-intensive society, we see many “debates” where two sides argue the merits of their positions… which I enjoy so long as both sides treat me as a thinking individual and don’t just present a shouting match. It insults me, however, when one side supports a particular point with a ridiculous argument, false data, citing sources known to be biased, or just sidesteps it altogether. That approach fails to win the point AND undermines their credibility when considering their other points. It would be much stronger to simply concede the point, minimize its value in the total scope of things, and hammer home the major points supporting their side of the argument.
It seems like political debate has reached the point where people think they have to win EVERY point. While that’s a fine goal, it is unrealistic… and usually untruthful. Winning at all costs is not a good political strategy as it brings into doubt the very foundation of an idea… at least, to a thinking person.
Ahhhh, there’s the rub. Some people hear this political nonsense and accept it as fact. Without thinking.
When businesses exhibit some of the same behavior in advertising as politicians do in debates… making wild or unsupported claims…. there are either established laws that slap them down or politicians themselves step in with a Congressional inquiry or some such showboat reaction.
It used to be the media who stepped in to “watch over” the politicians… exposing lies or bad behavior. While that still happens from time to time, the media entities themselves have become increasingly politicized, so they can’t be trusted to expose honest facts.
The responsibility ultimately lies with the individual. In addition to all else we have to do in our lives, it is OUR responsibility. Fortunately, it is easier today than ever before to do our homework. In fact, there are many resources on the internet that do excellent work and will give us “the bottom line”. The difficulty is finding those websites you can trust. As previously discussed, you cannot trust everything on the web… but there IS good information to be found.
