Debate discussion
Non-debating discussions (SA)
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WHY ARE GUYS SUCH JERKS?
We have much less then 250k, and we hardly felt the recession. It's about how to spend it. Small house, small car, no boat, no flatscreen. Plus the fact that we still pay some of the highest taxes in the nation.


"Chan, I doubt that you can lighten the mood when Davis and I are debating xD There should be a rule against us debating, like people keep saying, since it just ends up with Davis trying to insult me and me just laughing at his ideas. I wouldn't say that that's a civil debate =P"
Say what you will about my debating style or your view of them but you know they are concise and oftentimes, very correct. You can 'laugh at my ideas' all you want, but you are the one who is suffering my friend, and my heart goes out to you.
"Now, as far as the rest goes, I'd like to hear more about why you believe what you believe. How is it all going to work the way you say it will? How is it going to help the country, especially compared to my beliefs? Who knows, maybe you can sway me"
I will give you answer to that in, as I said, about 3 hours. I will refute the points you made and further explain the futility of the flat tax in my next post as well. In the meantime, I would like you to make a through examination of your political beliefs, as I will do with myself, and really question why you believe the way you do.

Hey! Why yall talking about my money :P
And Lauren I didn't know how hard the recession hit any of yall and I didn't want to imply anything, which might upset some people, so I just said what I said.
DAMN IT! I said yall twice!! :P

Cuz you have it...

Hey! Why yall talking about my money :P
And Lauren I didn't know how hard the recession hit any of yall and I didn't want to imply anything, which might upse..."
Okay, I'm just getting home. Collecting thoughts now, response will be up soon in 2 parts: The essay and then the refutation of her points.


Jayda's talking points in response to my extremely long rebuttal to her original argument.

It is funny though, and I think it has to do with the different form of economy down here, but the recession hasn't hit down here. I don't know why..it just hasn't :P
Yay Davis. I don't really know what they're arguing I just saw that he was going to post a long thing so I'm excited :D



So what do you guys think about the judge pick? Sotomayor or something like that. I like her, I don't really see anything wrong with her.





I was not born into the typical American home. My father and mother are, on average, left of center voters (statistics show our nation as center-right in ideology). Up until the age of 6, I attended a Christian church; however, at this point my parents abandoned this belief system and I thank my God every day for this. More than anything being raised to believe whatever I wanted to believe fostered my intelligence and personality in ways I never could have if I belonged to a Christian church.
My Grandfather is to this day, very active in local politics. He is a Democrat, however he is not always liberal. He favors many freedoms that in fact, Libertarians endorse. He won multiple elections for various posts as Democrat in Kansas, which is no easy feat. He had to be as moderate as allowed, as likable as could be, to win these elections. From this man, I learned about politics. Never once did he portray his beliefs only, I always learned just as much about the opposing viewpoint. He explained economics to me at a time that most children were learning basic addition and subtracting (I was a very intelligent, and still am, a very intelligent child). In the same respect, social conservatism was taught to me as well. Never once did I ever hear a partisan explanation of anything, and I am eternally grateful for that because it has allowed me to believe what I feel is true.
Time spent with my Grandfather and my introduction to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship built the foundation upon which my belief system rests. The UU group was vital in my understanding of life and humanity. I was taught compassion, understanding, empathy and love of my common man. It was taught to me that no matter of skin color, sociopolitical bracket, sexuality, gender, or any matter of variable that a human is a human and deserves to be treated as such. Discrimination was unambiguously frowned upon. However, the absolute greatest learning experience I have undertaken was my one and a half-year Religious Education class I undertook under my mentor David Lewerenz.
Through the course of this class I learned everything under the sun about various religions from African Diasporic faiths to Zoroastrianism. Attending services from all major religions, I went to Buddhist and Hindu Temples, Muslim Mosques, and Jewish Synagogues. We traveled to discuss with men who are considered experts in their area of theology. I read the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, Buddha, and every other major theologian. This course taught me all that I value today; values that meant the most to me stuck close. The distasteful parts such as the Caste System of Hinduism to the blind hatred endorsed in the Bible were left behind while principles of brotherly love, service to humanity, and compassion have stuck with me ever since.
Listening to praiseworthy men and women extol the virtues they lived their lives on captivated me. I consistently asked these individuals their political beliefs and the ones I respected the most always responded “Democrat”. All the people I looked up too, who I aspired to measure up too, where liberals. I felt as if I had latched on to my purpose, my direction, in life. I was to be the voice of those who did not have a voice.
The values instilled in me throughout my education and readings had all led me in this direction. In the way a Tuna fish instinctively knows where to swim to breed, my soul was called to Liberalism. I could not accept the plight of the poor, that anyone could callously turn their back from an entire group. Tales of Fred Phelps horrified me, as did that the thought that there were individuals who would take away aide from a woman raising children, working two jobs and not making ends meet. One final experience would forever solidify my belief in Liberalism over Conservatism forever.
One cold night, I was in Kansas City with a group of friends. We shuffling around Downtown KC, at around 11 o’clock. The chill secretly slithered into my bones likes an eerie fog over wetlands. Bright, neon lights shone overhead, illuminating the scene in an iridescent glow. I remember the scene as if it were last night. An obviously homeless man walked up to me, asking,
-Sir, do you have a dollar? In an empty, hopeless, desperate voice
-Yeah, man, I got 5 for you, I replied.
-Thanks man, you have no idea how much this means, I haven’t eaten in 2 days.
I don’t know what it was about that statement that gripped my attention so violently. Perhaps it was the quiet, acutely panicked look in his eyes. Maybe it was his despairing voice, or disgustingly futile rags, masquerading as clothes.
-No way? I’m so sorry man.
-It isn’t your fault, young man. You can’t be blamed for the powers that be, He offered, taking the money.
-What do you mean?
For the next 15 minutes this man launched into this life tale; it was truly the saddest thing I had ever heard. His wife had gotten sick, and their insurance plan wouldn’t pay up, so they began to pay for treatment on their own. Halfway through treatment for her cancer, they went bankrupt; and eventually, the cancer overtook and she died. Shortly after she died, he was fired from this factory job in a set of layoffs. From that day on, he had been working odd jobs but it was hard to be hired. He informed that he had been turned down jobs for many reasons, a major one being race. As he continued on his sad tale, I began to cry. My heart was breaking for this man. He had been on welfare at one time, but was kicked off for not being able to get a job, he said. His parting words stay with to this day.
-Thank you, young man, for your time. You’re the best friend I have had since my wife died.
Right now, this memory is filling me with sadness. It is for this unnamed soul in Downtown KC that I will always fight the good fight. I will never forget the plight of lower class Americans. For all I care, he would have been lying through his teeth; the lesson he taught me is the thing I value the most in my life. Money doesn’t mean anything in the long run; it is the effect we make on people that is lasting. The equivalent of being a good person, to me, is making a positive difference. These experiences have all led up to me being the Gay-loving, Pro-choice, Pro-Bottom Up Prosperity, Anti-Tax Cuts, Liberal that I am today.


Yes, yes it was.

I am extremely blessed to have the experiences I have had. I am making a simple point though: put yourself in someone else's shoes and understand all you can understand.

Now, though that was a very well written essay, and it explains why you're a liberal, I'm curious as to why you still think that everything you believe is right for our country, how it will work out that way, and why it's better than my beliefs.
Of course, you did say that there would be a second part so perhaps you'll answer those questions in that ^^ Sorry ahead of time if you were planning on it. I'll have to respond to part two tomorrow.





Well considering the path I have chosen in life is to become a writer, I hope that everything I put out is beautifully constructed.


Hahaha right on. I was kinda expecting more of a response since most of the people in this thread have been berating me.

"
Thank you sir haha


If it's to show off your intelligence to others or to educate them then that is a wrong reason. Sure, a lot of us have no idea what you're talking about (i'm not saying i'm one of them) half the time but that shows no reason. And why is it that you have to fight to be on top. To be better than the opposing person? Yes, male dominance can be a reason but not a valuable one. So why is it that you act that way? This has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with you so do not refer me to your essay.

Struggling how? They have to give up one of their mansions?"
250k could not buy a mansion. 250k still struggle to get by in the economy just maybe not as much as some of you all do.