The Dewars Guide to Debating (and the state of logic in Williamsburg)
Some months ago, Vice magazine hired me to write the Dewar's Guide to Debating, an adorable retro-illustrated booklet packaged with the current issue of Vice.
Click to download (PDF)
I went to Verb on Bedford Ave in Williamsburg to find myself a few copies, and discovered Guides to Debating strewn everywhere...
...as people ripped open the plastic, took the magazine, and left the advertising behind.
As I collected a few Guides, I got into a discussion with an Asian guy sporting a pointy beard and wearing a fur coat, about the value of debate in general.
He seemed to have a rather mystical worldview that didn't assign much value to logic, but we were nevertheless getting along okay (for instance, I agreed that debating is rarely effective when hanging out with friends, but I pointed out its value in policymaking, and that his proposed alternative -- hugging -- is, again, great among friends but insufficient for statesmanship) until the guy's friend butted in (in an argument against the value of logic, a tricky thing in itself) with:
"It's LOGIC that got us into the Iraq War!"
And then I left Verb. And Williamsburg. As fast as possible.
Click to download (PDF)I went to Verb on Bedford Ave in Williamsburg to find myself a few copies, and discovered Guides to Debating strewn everywhere...
...as people ripped open the plastic, took the magazine, and left the advertising behind.
As I collected a few Guides, I got into a discussion with an Asian guy sporting a pointy beard and wearing a fur coat, about the value of debate in general.
He seemed to have a rather mystical worldview that didn't assign much value to logic, but we were nevertheless getting along okay (for instance, I agreed that debating is rarely effective when hanging out with friends, but I pointed out its value in policymaking, and that his proposed alternative -- hugging -- is, again, great among friends but insufficient for statesmanship) until the guy's friend butted in (in an argument against the value of logic, a tricky thing in itself) with:
"It's LOGIC that got us into the Iraq War!"
And then I left Verb. And Williamsburg. As fast as possible.
posted by JenIsFamous at 2/07/2007 04:42:00 PM
3 Comments:
Actually, it's not SUCH a stupid idea to replace the candidate debates with a group hug judged by Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson; perhaps with special "celebrity" judges William Bennett or Paul Begala. More Americans participated in crowning former NFL Hall of Famer Emmit Smith the winner of "Dancing with the Stars", after all, than voted in the last national election. The "debates", on the other hand, are usually nothing more than opportunities for would-be statespersons to bloviate and offer thirty-second sound bites that never seem to answer the questions posed to them. So, if you'll pardon my saying. . .it's all just self-serving nonsense.
But is there any doubt in your mind that Bill Clinton would have kicked Bob Dole and Ross Perot's ass when it comes to giving someone a hug? And while John Edwards may indeed have a plan for universal health care, and John Kerry a plan for nearly everything else, many of us could do without having more of a tax burden, thank you very much. More importantly, who among us couldn't use a hug right about now?
Indeed, if you look at the last several presidential elections, you begin to see that, in any case, we Americans tend to elect the person among the declared candidates from whom we'd be most willing to receive a hug. Consider that the marred 2000 election after which the Supreme Court annointed George W. Bush, for example, pitted two equally repellent men. Gore was simply a little less repellent, and so he received the majority of the electoral vote. Similarly, 2004 proved that Kerry lacked Gore's "warmth" and "charisma"; 1988 that, whatever Poppy's other manifest flaws, he was downright cuddly when compared to Governor Dukakis. Finally, say what you will about Ronald Reagan's policies, but the guy was nothing if not avuncular.
Of course, there have been exceptions. There always are. (I'm thinking Nixon here.) But for the most part, willingness to be hugged by the candidate is a good barometer of whether he or she might make an acceptable chief executive. And that's why I remain convinced that the Republicans' best hope of defeating Hillary Clinton--a polarizing figure in her own right to be sure--is not the aloof and arrogant Rudy Giuliani, but rather another woman.
No, I'm not referring to Condoleezza Rice. I'm talking about Bo Derek.
All mystical thinking aside. Logic can help one out of a sticky jam that's not so sweet tasting!!!
I love the debating guide. I think I might use it with my comp class this afternoon.
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