This cancer on American culture is so pervasive it has even destroyed the high school debate. If we don’t cut this cancer from our nation it will kill us. A country founded on liberty can’t survive suppression of thought and speech.
No longer are kids taught to hone their minds and debating skills to argue for and against a topic. Instead they are taught to cow tow to the political leanings of their debate judges. The problem is so bad that one high school debater lost because of a tweet he made about a different topic. The tweet was weeks before the debate. His opponent pulled it up on screen and said he “proliferated hatred”. The debate was about federal policy on the protection of water resources.
Suddenly, Matthew’s six-word tweet and an accompanying Discord message became the focus of the round, U.S. water policy be damned. You can read his opponents’ entire argument—a rambling 25-page treatise in a multi-font format with no real mention of U.S. water policy—here.
But what is most incredible is that this argument actually won Matthew’s opponents the round.
In his written decision, Judge Jacob Wilkus explained his reasoning for giving Matthew’s opponents the win. “A debate space where racist or violent people are not allowed is preferable to one where they are,” he wrote, adding that “the ballot has a transformative power to challenge white debate norms where it is okay to just let racist or violent activity slide.”
Part II: At High School Debates, Watch What You Say – The Free Press
You’re only seeing this kind of coverage at The Free Press.
Read Part I of this story. At High School Debates, Debate Is No Longer Allowed