A short discussion on debate

I love a good debate.

Now I am not talking about those ridiculous shams that politicians often put on so that they can ignore the facts while slinging mud at one another. Anyone trying that on a high school debate team would get laughed off stage. Why do we put up with it from our leaders?

What I mean is a real debate, a thing where me and another person each do as much research as we can on a topic, each pick a side and discuss our points at length,verbally sparring, until one or the other concedes to the other's superior knowledge of the subject.

While debating, it never actually matters to me if I am right or wrong. Whether or not I personally believe the piece of the argument that I am upholding is not important either. Sometimes it is even more fun if I do not believe my own argument.The thrill of the game as point and counterpoint are made is all that really matters.

I will continue to present my side of the debate and to give piece after piece of evidence while doing my best to disprove whatever my opponent presents until it no longer possible for one of us.
Bringing faith or my own beliefs into the debate never does anything but put how I feel into the discussion. And once you make it personal you lose the ability to be objective. Your power for true and correct reasoning goes out the window as you struggle to find a way to make what you want to be true to be true.

Having a person disagree with you is a great tool for testing what you think about a particular topic. Without this tool you may not see simple holes in your logic. There is a saying that if you look for proof of a thing, you are sure to find it. Another way of saying this is if you want something to be true you will find a way proving to yourself that it is, whether it really is or not.

In such a circumstance your mind will automatically edit out some detail which would prove it false. You just won't see it or remember it. Whereas a person with no particular attachment to whether a thing is right or wrong will see things more clearly. They are far more likely to see what is actually there rather than what you want to believe is there.

Unfortunately, many of the debates I have been in, in my life, have been things where neither side took time to really prepare. A topic would come up and there would be disagreement over which side was right. Most of these types of debates have turned into heated arguments.

What bothers me about a lot of those discussions that I have been involved in is what happens when it is obvious that the other person is extremely passionate about the topic we are discussing. I have asked simple questions designed to shed a bit more light on what it is that they believe. I have done so in a quiet calm, non patronizing, non threatening tone of voice and quite often they have gotten angry at me.

My intention has been to go from wherever the conversation started, gradually, to the base tenets of their belief on the matter, to get a complete picture of things if you will. Getting a clear look at the whole picture matters to me, because it helps me to understand what the person believes, how and why they believe it and whether or not that belief will work for me.

I find myself capable of putting aside my beliefs and making myself a completely blank slate with no preconceived notions at all. Once this has been accomplished I implore the other person to fully explain their point of view to me. To fill in the canvas so to speak.

But somehow during my line of questioning, the other party often decides that I am attacking them, somehow attempting to tear them down for their beliefs rather than merely attempting to get a better understanding of those beliefs.

It is at this point that the debate(argument) ends and nobody wins.

Are you a good debater? Do you often get angry at the person presenting a differing point of view? How successful are you in separating how you feel about a thing from what you think about that thing?