SuperMom Mentality

The Great Debate

A professional “debate” has rules. It is NOT like a bar fight, it more like a court room. There is a subject, representatives of ideas and moderator. The moderator asks a question and chooses a debate participant to respond. The respondent has a set amount of time to present his/her position on the subject, addressing the moderator &/or audience. Then the opponent is given time for rebuttal. Sometimes, the original respondent may be granted time for a short rebuttal of his/her respondent’s answer, particularly if a new subject was brought up in the context of the rebuttal. Traditionally, opponents DO NOT address nor interrupt one another. It would be rude and shameful conduct and considered “a low blow” thus weakening any argument in the eyes of the audience.
Example: Imagine you are debating “Are Eggs Healthy for you?” Your position is “yes”. Your opponent’s position is “no”. You MUST try to “win” this debate by following the rules of debate. You never “win” a debate by proving your point, you “win” by presenting the information and gaining majority audience approval. So in this example, the Moderator starts off by asking you “According the official dietary guidelines, eating eggs contributes to heart disease and obesity. Why then, do you believe that people should still eat eggs?” You then have 2 minutes to respond. (Your opponent may be taking notes for his/her rebuttal – but must not interrupt). There are many debate tactics you could use, but for example’s sake you address the following: (1) people from all cultures from all over the world have eaten eggs since the dawn of time and it has never been shown to be harmful in any other time or place in history…. (2) The human brain is made of fat, in particular cholesterol (3) official dietary guidelines were issued relatively recently in the history of mankind (the 1970’s) and since then to the present, heart disease and obesity rates have skyrocketed from relatively rare diseases, reserved mainly for the elderly or vulnerable, to our nation’s top causes of death and chronic illness, striking people as young as their 30’s and 40’s. [A timer indicates your time is over, and the moderator may or may not allow you to finish your breath if you don’t wrap it up in the allotted time.) Then your opponent gets a chance to offer a rebuttal. He might say something like, “We learned long ago that, according to established scientific studies completed, there IS a correlation…. ” When his time ends, you may offer a short rebuttal and that will end the round of that particular question. In your brief rebuttal, you might say “The studies my opponent cites were done by the same researchers who were called out by other scientists as having omitted data and cherry-picked information that skewed the conclusions. Furthermore those studies were funded in part by the sugar industry, who had financial interests in replacing eggs with sugary cereals and such studies could not be replicated by independent researchers. A current scientific consensus does not exists. Some studies shows a possible correlation but certainly not causation. Other studies actually indicate that eggs help prevent heart attack. stroke, obesity, and cancer and certainty do not cause the epidemic of these modern-day lifestyle diseases.” Ding. your turn ends and the Moderator asks your opponent a question and follows the same format.
The purpose of debate is exchanging information and trying to convince a majority to believe the way you believe or at least consider a different stance on whatever the topic may be. In a civil debate, you greet your opponent at the beginning with a smile and you shake hands, not fists, at the end. In between, you attack ideas – NEVER a person presenting ideas. THAT is both the art & skill of “the great debate”.

(October 2, 2020 –  Twins & Asher age 6 years old & capable of civil argument better than presidential candidates; Mica age 12 & an eggztraordinary student of life; Hope 11 & Rain 3 never out of prayers; Ez Happy 2nd birthday & a new one on the way? The answer is within the Starz.)

Double Talk Quote: “No debate: that was a bar-fight!” ~ SuperMommy in the continual quest to clarify to little ones living in LocoLand how ‘It’s not supposed to be this way.’ (9/30/2020 2:08 AM unable to sleep and regrettably fell for Main-Stream-Media political clickbait #YouTubeRegrets)

Bible Verse: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.” Mark 3:24

Term that has Lost its meaning: civil

Relatable Lyrics: Forget Elephants and Donkeys! Remember Heffalumps and Woozles? (“Winnie The Pooh & The Blustery Day”)

“…they’re in. they’re out, they’re all about! They’re far, they’re near, they’re gone, they’re here, they’re quick and slick & insincere BEWARE!!! … If [M]oney’s what you covert, you’ll find that: they love it – because they guzzle up the things you prize!”