After a year of frequent eruptions of political debate in my office–preceded by a lifetime of similar sought-out discussion–I have decided to supplement my passionate political banter with an outlet allowing for more reasoned, uninterrupted editorial prose.
Interpersonal debate about policy, legal issues, and even movie and book tastes, so often devolves into a competition over who can speak loudest and fastest or who can best use tools of argumentative deflection (my personal favorites being (1) accusing your opponent of racism, (2) carrying your opponent’s point to exaggerated ends ultimately ending in world destruction, a la the slippery slope, (3) semantic arguments that redefine your opponent’s words, and (4) using aggressive catchphrases like “you’re comparing apples and oranges” or “you smell”). People turn to these tactics because the elevation of a discussion into a debate–or, worse, to an argument–creates the incentive to win, less you create the appearance that you’ve been bested or, worst of all, you are wrong.
The mission of this blog is, thus, not to be “right” (as much as I do love being right. Seriously. Love.). The mission is to thoughtfully flesh out, using common sense and logic, reasonable solutions to society’s legal and policy challenges.
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