The Spirit of Debate

When I was young, I was an argumentative child. My parents would ban me from going with them to grocery stores in the hopes of my not using my first-grade vocabulary skills to convince them to buy me candy. But if convincing was throwing a tantrum, I was quite the little lawyer. From my early stages in elementary school as a young attorney, I fought pro bono for extra milk in the cafeteria and extra credit in the classroom. In high school, I joined my school’s Model UN club. In Model UN, I learned that debate was a collaborative effort, where there was no winner or loser, but rather where good ideas were made better through deliberation and argument. I believe that debate is an activity that even the most common citizen can do. I believe that debate creates better solutions for a better future.

I believe in the spirit of debate. I love squabbles and tiffs. I relish every moment in an argument. I love how language can persuade and dissuade and how it creates the very social fabric of our society. I love the fact that that every person, no matter how poor or rich, has the ability to garner respect if he/she has a strong command of language. I believe that before anything can be decided, it must be discussed and debated. I believe that without debate, we not only lessen dialogue, but also prevent constructive solutions.

Debate and discussion allowed me the chance to defuse a nuclear bomb, stop a terrorist organization, safely help transition the communist regime of North Korea, solve an economic crisis, and make Jackie Chan China’s spokesperson. Although these solutions were formed in the safe confines of Cornell University as a simulation of the Chinese Politburo, debate allowed the polar beliefs of those there to meld through compromise. It allowed for differing plans to be resolved and flaws to be pointed out. Therefore, there was never a time when a solution was developed, but there was always a time when the best solution was developed as a result of debate.

At Cornell, I watched my fellow high school students attempt to bring LGBT rights to those nations that barred them. I watched as the world’s greatest problem, dirty drinking water, was solved within the fortnight. I watched solutions formulated and goals achieved. With debate and discussion, all is possible.

The way I see it, our society is not made up of one public, but many publics, made up of differing opinions, hopes, and dreams. Therefore, no one is ever going to simply sit down and accept everything that is said. I expect people to argue. I expect people to fight for what they believe in. Debate is much more than a philosophical activity. Discussion and discourse build societies, create constitutions, and make an educated people. If I could, I would make every school in America would teach its children how to debate, how to use their skills to create a better society for the future, and how to fight for what they believe in as I may argue for what I believe in: the spirit of debate.