Individuals immune to debating
Despite topic, arguing will not change anybody's mind
Derrick Skaug
The Daily Evergreen
Published: 02/09/2009
In one of the worst episodes of NBC’s hit sitcom “The Office,” the Dunder Mifflin employees debate whether movie star Hilary Swank is “hot.” A hand vote at the end of the episode reveals not a single mind changed.
In the 2008 election, about 90 percent of Republicans voted for Sen. John McCain and about 90 percent of Democrats voted for President Barack Obama.
My political science professor explained the effect of presidential debates on party members stating, “The majority of Democrats will always say the Democratic nominee for president won and the majority of Republicans will say the Republican nominee won. If you could find anyone foolish enough to bet otherwise it would be a very good investment.” This does not mean debating is worthless. Debate changed my life. In the clash of ideas, I found my own voice. I argued both sides of nearly every political issue in high school debate. After a while, it became clear to me that one side of the debate seemed stacked. The progressive liberal arguments had more logical, statistical and even surprisingly morally correct points than the conservative arguments.
The best debater I ever met could give a perfect speech without a single note. His voice was Kennedy-esque, his logic rivaled Aristotle and he beat me without even trying.
But I have no doubt even he could not convince my father to vote for Obama or my grandfather to vote for McCain. My dad has never voted for a Democrat for president, although I have no doubt hundreds of people have tried to convince him otherwise, myself included.
After a certain point, individuals become polarized and entrenched. Man is a creature of habit. Is it any wonder that the only noticeable demographic shift from the 2004 election to the 2008 election was the youth vote? Those who are willing to give a candidate of the other party the benefit of the doubt.
There are always going to be people on both sides of the political and religious spectrum. When two fundamentally opposing ideas are put forth, what is the best solution for both sides?
If you hate the idea of two brides kissing at a gay marriage, don't watch one. If you think abortion is wrong, go figure out ways to prevent unwanted pregnancies or don't get an abortion. If God seems as real as Santa to you and church is boring, then don’t go to church. If you believe in God, that's great, but you don't need to hand green fliers out to every single student about attending your church. If they want to go, they will show up. The cup of noodles are nice, though.
No matter what, people will continually milk the hot button issues of politics. There are those enlightened individuals who believe with all their heart that their voice will make the difference and everyone will see the light and believe (insert radical idea here).
Unfortunately, these people are probably too entrenched to understand my column.
