When I was young we had, what probably no one has heard of today, debating societies.
In school we would have contests to see which side could give the most convincing argument either for or against a certain topic or idea.
It gave us a chance to see important points on both sides of the street, as it were. These debates never, as far as I knew, caused trouble.
There were no murders or personal or cultural cancellations. It gave young people a chance to explore other opinions and ideas without fear. It made people think about issues and formulate their own opinions.
The debates never involved personal attack. No one was belittled or condemned for a point of view. It was all about facts and presentation. You might not be swayed by one point of view, but it made you think more clearly about issues.
To shake things up, a teacher would assign you, regardless of your personal opinions, to present a case often against what you believed in. This forced you to use your brain, to do research, and to see that often things are not as black and white as you previously thought.
This is what a good education is suppose to do – give you critical thinking and expand your mind.
Sadly missing today. Today, everything is about emotion. Just react to everything without a thought. It’s all about ME ME ME.
I’ve had all the emotion I can handle for a life time, thank you. Can we please just have interesting debates instead of out and out fury?