Comments on: January 2008 Public Forum Debate Topic Announced

By: sammi

sammi — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:31:08 +0000

ok buddies…im really tired of all this LD stuff goin on in my PFD! i want pf back…i didnt join pfd to debate topics like this…lets boycott this! haha well atleast we are gettin away from ld and into Russia…anybody else think we should just bomb Russia and take care of any threat? haha

By: cappedinliberty

cappedinliberty — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 04:10:54 +0000

The idea of disregarding a republic because it’s not a true democracy is very silly, virtually no true democracy has ever existed (Athens had such a limited citizenship that they were definitely less representational of the people than the US) and so the resolution implies a government that functions on democratic ideals – like a republic.

Pro is pretty straightforward what with the seventies and all, Con is the tricky part. All i can think of is that while civil disobedience is awesome in a tyrannical situation, more responsible alternatives (i.e. the electoral process) exist in a democracy that serve as a more accessible and appropriate weapon.
Or maybe, if you wanted to be weird, you could say that civil disobedience, especially in the US, has become so overused that it’s usually never even covered by the media anymore, and so it has lost most of it’s functionality.

What do you think?

By: unknown

unknown — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 07:02:42 +0000

In response to ben…..
atcually, i don’t think it will be easier to define democracy as a ‘true democracy’ in ur pro argument because a lot of examples of beneficial civil disobedience movements of the past were not under true democracies. For instance, the civil rights movement is a good example of a beneficial civil disobedience movement, but it was not under a true democracy because the african americans did not have equal rights.

By: Debating Jesus

Debating Jesus — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:04:58 +0000

it doesn’t say “true” democracy in the res, and a federal constitutional republic falls under that umbrella of a democracy.

By: cary

cary — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 05:19:26 +0000

very ldish this is so much better the last months topic

By: unknown

unknown — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:03:58 +0000

Did Martin Luther King actually engage in civil disobedience, meaning, did he actually break the law….or did he simply make speeches and convince society that segregation was wrong (without breaking the law)?

By: ben

ben — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 23:16:01 +0000

arguing topicality will never work.
you guys should probably stick to legitimate arguments..
to say [on NEG] that a true democracy doesn’t exist is silly..
most arguments are hypothetical..
on the NEG side you have to argue what is actual [like real examples]
and on the PRO side it’s easier to say “in a TRUE democracy..”

By: No more master-debater jokes....

No more master-debater jokes.... — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:42:50 +0000

This debate will come down to modern versus 1776 philosophy, enjoy.

By: BOB the Sponge with Square Pants

BOB the Sponge with Square Pants — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:28:23 +0000

I love this topic..especially when I’m on neg…YAY!

By: hardy martyyy

hardy martyyy — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:40:33 +0000

this topic makes me love my lifeeeeeeeeeee. floooo..montyyyyyyy. yeahhhhhhh.

RARRRRRRR

By: Flo-----chart

Flo-----chart — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:33:26 +0000

monty i said that earlier, finally someone agrees with me, jeezo petes

By: monty

monty — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:24:52 +0000

this topic is not LD at all jeezo man you guys.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:40:22 +0000

Oh wow, the neg case seems as if it will be based entirely on “If THIS happens, this MIGHT happen so THEREFORE, it is WRONG” Sigh…. And that’s logical fallacy right there. This topic is so narrow…comparable with the fairness doctrine.

By: lifesagardendigit

lifesagardendigit — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:25:51 +0000

it sucks having to debate topicality but sometimes you have to do it to win

By: lifesagardendigit

lifesagardendigit — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:25:04 +0000

hey bob the sponge with square pants. saying that there is no true demcracy will totally work for the neg its just a loophole in the resolution that you need to find in order to make a solid argument for the neg bacause if you dont the aff will hit you with numerous examples of the U.S. and you can say that because this isnt 100% demcracy it doesnt apply

By: BOB the Sponge with Square Pants

BOB the Sponge with Square Pants — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 03:36:51 +0000

Thanks Steve…lol. U r a debater..stealing everyone else’s ideas and such.

Ya I think I should walk in with a Value and a criterian just to make everyone mad…well never mind, it might just make me mad when I loose the round…lol.

DOes anyone think Ancient Greece would be a good example to use as a democracy?

By: Tyler

Tyler — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:37:38 +0000

does anyone have a list of the pros and cons that would be good to make a good case?

By: Hachihyakunijuni

Hachihyakunijuni — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 05:28:57 +0000

Yeah Americas a federal constitutional republic. Where else to look…?

By: STEVE the Sponge with Round Pants

STEVE the Sponge with Round Pants — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:45:53 +0000

This WAS an LD topic 2 years ago. And of course it is a LD topic anyway. Pretty much anything with “justified” in it can/should be LD.

By: Flo

Flo — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:06:04 +0000

This is not LD at all- and I’m being 100% serious.

By: STEVE the Sponge with Round Pants

STEVE the Sponge with Round Pants — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:47:45 +0000

hah yeah i jacked your name.

by the way, examples from america aren’t as good as you can get, since america is a technically a republic. “I pledge allegience to the flag of the united states of america and to the REPUBLIC for which it stands…”
google: “america is a republic” if you want more explanation why this is different.

By: Hachihyakunijuni

Hachihyakunijuni — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:12:29 +0000

Hmm. Where would you guys start looking for evidence?

By: Nate Bernitz

Nate Bernitz — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:04:26 +0000

What is the neg argument here

By: BOB the Sponge with Square Pants

BOB the Sponge with Square Pants — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:40:00 +0000

Hey Steve thanks for stealing my name…lol

So wait, the fact that there is no “true” 100% democracy, wouldn’t that twist and mess things up in the round. Couldn’t that be used, or are we all more acting in figurative terms or is this directly connected back to the United States?

By: marie-Noelle

marie-Noelle — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:16:59 +0000

This should be an interesting debate. The examples and supporting evidence should be fun

By: STEVE the Sponge with Round Pants

STEVE the Sponge with Round Pants — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:48:20 +0000

What is everyone thinking so far for basic points on each side?
I personally think this will be annoying because of the necessary definitions for each debate. I really hope none of my rounds come down to debates over definitions…

By: lifesagardendigit

lifesagardendigit — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:46:39 +0000

can you argue that in a true democracy you wouldnt have to have a fight for justice so therefore you wouldnt need any civil disobedience

By: lifesagardendigit

lifesagardendigit — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:20:22 +0000

this is so LD. this is going to bring up some interesting arguments. good thing our team has bomb LDers to help

By: Spencer

Spencer — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:48:07 +0000

please keep LD topics in LD and PF topics separate

By: BOB the Sponge with Square Pants

BOB the Sponge with Square Pants — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:58:25 +0000

Does anyone think the word “democracy” will lead to interesting debates?

By: Carly

Carly — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:50:47 +0000

Might as well just switch to LD for Jan/Feb. and keep on debating the December topic.

By: PFDebate LLC

PFDebate LLC — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:09:29 +0000

Yes, the LD topic at the 2004 NFL National tournament was:
Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified.

By: Cherry

Cherry — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 17:39:21 +0000

This topic was an L.D topic 2 years ago

By: Zen

Zen — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:37:09 +0000

Why must we debate another LD topic? WHY?

By: BOB the Sponge with Square Pants

BOB the Sponge with Square Pants — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:02:54 +0000

Ok, does anyone else find that this will cause very intersting debates due to the fact they used the word democracy, leaving out a lot of different arguments? It looks fun to me.

By: Sean

Sean — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 08:10:33 +0000

I’m really starting to like the whole LD spin on all the PF topics. I’ve always liked LD topics, but never the structure and Policy-likeness of LD. This works out great for me.

By: Sam

Sam — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 04:56:37 +0000

LD much?