We published a blog awhile back about the debate battlefield metaphor. In fact, I think it’s the most appropriate— a castle siege, a battle. After all, debate is inherently competitive. And relating it to a sport other than an ancient battlefield feels like it cheapens the metaphor. Long story short: I like it. But here’s another, a similar metaphor: chess. Relatable to, well, people who play chess. Which, I do. Arguments are attacks. When one piece attacks another, it threatens to capture them, to gain ground in the game and to therefore inch closer to the win. Every argument and every attac ..read more

What if the whole world were debaters? Would our public discourse improve? Would people be more reasonable? Would the issues of fake news and cheap arguments and dishonest rhetoric start to fade into the background? It’s always occurred to me that if there’s one debate skill that might push the public forward to something better, it just might be weighing. Weighing, of course, is comparison between arguments and impacts. This may, in fact, be where much of our discourse breaks down. The extreme movement toward social justice in our society, in particular, can be misguided when the extreme ene ..read more

In hindsight, maybe this should have been my first post. 'Sacrifice’ has always been the go-to word for this activity. This part is obvious. It takes immense time, a lot of brainpower, a willingness to be uncomfortable— pushing your academic boundaries, pushing your social boundaries, pushing your ability to not cry when your opponent is yelling at you. Truly, debate is not a sport for the faint-of-hearted. And although the speech & debate community is (in general) accepting and welcoming and inclusive, that really doesn’t mean that debate is for everyone. In the same way volleyball isn’t ..read more

You may have heard of utilitarianism before. You may not have. You may not be able to pronounce the word. Utilitarianism is a philosophy which states that we should do things that maximize happiness, good and well-being. The founder of this philosophy, Jeremy Bentham, called this "the greatest happiness for the greatest number.” This philosophy emphasizes results over method: it doesn’t matter how we get there, as long as we arrive at maximal happiness. This takes us away from thinking about problems selfishly— from our own point of view, that of our families and friends, or those of a partic ..read more

Here’s the story: we’re all gonna die. Climate change is sweeping the world. Storms, droughts, record temperatures of highs and lows: it’s all to blame on climate change. Glaciers are melting, the seas are rising, and the ocean is heating. What’s worse, it’s all accelerating. Whether you believe we’re all doomed or not, and despite the guilt each of us is ’supposed to’ feel for this destruction, the Climate Change impact is one of the ultimate round-clinchers in a debate. There’s two ways you can link into climate change: either the other team causes it, or you prevent it. Most links come via ..read more

The Summary speech is probably the most complex of the Public Forum speeches. There’s a lot to do: collapsing on a certain argument or line of offense, framing the debate, frontlining rebuttals to the argument, extending defense…and a whole grab bag of other random tasks depending on what’s happened in the round so far. This can be, frankly, overwhelming. Summary speeches are often the messiest of the speeches I hear in practice and competition. Yet, they’re crucially important, and many rounds are truly won or lost in the Summary. So, here’s a few models to help you simplify the process. You ..read more

Stimulus checks seem great: free money from the government. The classic Robin Hood scheme. A small stem towards wealth equality; inching toward a Universal Basic Income. (Pro) In fact, stimulus checks overwhelmingly help the poor; the poorer you are, the more they help— an equal amount of $1000 or $1200 or $2000 will be felt more keenly by someone with less money for whom this amount can cover a month or even more worth of expenses. With some schemes, like Biden’s latest, there’s a wealth cutoff— those making $80,000 per year won’t get these checks, leaving the payout to those who truly need ..read more

Ethos is important in Public Forum Debate. Crucial, even. Yet overlooked. Ethos is the feeling or sense of being ‘in control’ of the situation. It’s the feeling of confidence the judge has knowing that voting for you is the right move. Because PF has classically been run by lay judges, the importance of logic and technique and can often fly out the window— especially for a judge who’s not flowing, or who’s half-asleep, or is totally ignorant of the conventions of debate. Even for non-lay judges, we as humans are all subject to the same psychological forces. Especially in close rounds, the mor ..read more

from Reddit user ImaginaryDisplay3 edited for the blog by Joel a Policy blog pot At the top - one big caveat. There are a lot of different flavors of the Security K. A lot of these versions have arguments and authors in common, but you'll find a lot of diversity as well. There are also a number of other Ks, which are really their own thing, but often get included as a link or impact on Security K. For instance, there are Ks about the rhetoric of nuclear war or terrorism which stand on their own, but are also sometimes incorporated into the Security K. Here's some quick foundation to help you ..read more

It’s taken for granted that life, and therefore jobs, and therefore education, are a meandering path with twists and turns: · “I changed my major like 3 times” · “honestly, I’m in a totally different field than I studied” · “I didn’t even get into it until I was 30!” I don’t think this has to be the case—I believe a small amount of planning and targeted, intentional exploration when you’re young can give you exponentially greater rewards later in life. In other words, that ‘twisting and turning’ are lost, and typically wasted, time. Two counter-arguments spring to mind: i. the exploration is ..read more