Houston Lamar JC

Rhetorical Borders 1AC

Houston Lamar JC
Notes
Only used this aff once, won with it!
Its pretty straightforward, although I would definitely not seek to mimic such an
advocacy. The whole purpose of this aff was originally a feminist IR K comined with
orders, ut I scratched the first part and !ust turned it into orders.
The reason I wrote this K was ecause my partner happens to e "hilean, and I had a
small little chat with him aout the little white o# on all the forms he fills out asking
him if hes $ispanic. I always come up with some way to incorporate something in life
into a case, ut unfortunately this one didnt pull through %uite the way I wanted. I
scrapped this aff after we won, ecause the R&' was mostly () minutes of telling me to
restructure it and get more cards. Too much work!
If you dislike the aff, think its ad, etc. etc. feel free to voice your opinion! Im not a TO"
winner, hell I dont even have a id *or have even een to more than + id tourney, ut at
the very least Im open to discussion (-./, its why I did deate in the first place!
Houston Lamar JC
Chapter 1 is The Biopolitical
Border
Discursive propaganda based on current immigration policy leads those on the
inside to believe they are the victims, allowing for the extermination of the
innocent !n reality, the wall itself stands as a discriminatory devaluation of
people and the environment
Nail 1"#, Thomas Nail, University of Denver 2013 ISSN: 1832-5203 Foucault Studies No! 15, ""! 110-128, #e$r%ary
2013
The &hosen "la&ement of the 'all alon( the $or)er is a nother $io"oliti&al strate(y ! It &%ts
thro%(h "re&ario%s 'il)life ha$itat , an) the "rivate "ro"erty of resi)ents 'itho%t the fi-
nan&es to le(ally fi(ht it , 'hile &aref%lly $%il)in( aro%n) 'ell finan&e) (olf &o%rses ! It
&%ts thro%(h "%$li& "ar*s, s&hools, lo'-in&ome ho%sin( areas, in)%strial "ar*s, an)
%r$an an) r%-ral 'atershe)s &a%sin( floo)in( ! This is not merely a matter of
environmental )evastation, &lassism, or ra&ism , et&! it is a "ro)%&tive investment
o""ort%nity for ne' real-estate an) the (entrifi&ation of the $%ilt environment to , as #o%&a%lt
says, $rea* %" &ro')s an) ens%re hy-(iene, ventilation, an) &ommer&e!58 +itho%t )ire&t "%nishment, or )is&i"linary
a&tion, the 'all is an environmental te&hnolo(y that sha"es the nat%ral &on)itions %n)er 'hi&h 'ater, "lants, animals, an)
"eo"le are allo'e) to &ir&%late an) (ather! ,ne 'ay to )eter )issent is to $rea* %" "%$li& areas an) "rivati-e them! These
are some of the $io"oliti&al strate(ies that ma*e %" the US./e0i&o $or)er 'all! 1%t these strate(ies )o not sim"ly e0ist in
"arallel 'ith soverei(n an) )is&i"linary strate(ies2 they also form "oints of &onfli&t as 'ell as &onfl%en&e $et'een them!
The border is a false mirage truncated into blac$ and white The border is not a
bloc$ade% it is a source of profit for those who feed upon others with no remorse,
exclusion turns a profit through our current biopolitical governance &very person
south of the border is treated as a dollar sign rather than as a human
Nail 1"#, Thomas Nail, University of Denver 2013 ISSN: 1832-5203 Foucault Studies No! 15, ""! 110-128, #e$r%ary
2013
The thir) (ro%" of "oliti&al strate(ies I 'ant to loo* at are also &hara&teri-e) $y several &ommon feat%res: o"timal &ir&%lation, "ro$a$ility,
an) the se&%rity of mo$ile or mi(rant life! The &ommon feat%res of these strate(ies are also those that )efine, for #o%&a%lt, the &on&e"t of
$io-"o'er! 3et %s e0amine this final set of $or)er strate(ies in more )etail! The $or)er 'all is not merely a "hysi&al
$arrier , or even 4%st "art of a )is&i"linary series, it is also "art of a lar(er "ro&ess of
mana(in( %n&ertain "o"%lations an) effe&tively enfor&in( transformations in the $%ilt
environment ! The tas* of eliminatin( all %nla'f%l entry, $y any means ne&essary, as 'e
sa' )%rin( /i&hael 5hertoff6s si0 years as Se&retary of the D7S, is as finan&ially
irres"onsi$le as it is "hysi&ally im"ossi$le ! The $io"oliti&al "ro$lemati& th%s $e(ins instea) from the "res%""osition
of the im"ossi$ility of total &ontrol over mi(ration an) its s%rveillan&e! 8ather, it tries to a&hieve an o"timal o%t&ome in the most effi&ient 'ay
"ossi$le thro%(h the statisti&al &ontrol of the environment! 123 This is a&hieve) thro%(h the follo'in( strate(ies! Three ma4or
&ontra&tors 'ere hire) $y the US (overnment to hel" se&%re the $or)er! +hile the (overnment
a(en)a may have $een to try an) sto" mi(ration, this is not the str%&t%ral &on)ition an) f%n&tion of for-"rofit "rivate
&om"anies! 9rivate &om"anies are )efine) $y the str%&t%ral ne&essity of "rofit! If they )o not ma*e a "rofit, they 'ill not $e
&om"etitive in a &a"italist e&onomy! Th%s, "rofita$ility is not ne&essarily the "sy&holo(i&al intention of any "erson or
"ersons se&ret or e0"li&it! 9rofit is the str%&t%ral )etermination of the o"timal f%n&tionin( of
"rivate &om"anies in a &a"italist e&onomy! The f%n&tion of "rivate &ontra&tors is th%s "rimarily
to (enerate "rofit, not ne&essarily to *ee" all mi(rants o%t of the US! :n)in( mi(ration
'o%l) in fa&t )estroy the se&%rity mar*et! Th%s, the ;%estion is not ho' to sto" mi(ration
$%t ho' to o"timally <a!*!a! "rofita$ly= mana(e the se&%rity environment thro%(h the
Houston Lamar JC
&ir&%lation of 'hat is str%&t%rally an %n"re)i&ta$le an) %nsto""a$le flo' of mi(rants!
This is blatant racism against the people labeled '(atin )merican* or '+ispanic*
by our society !t is our duty to re,ect any and all forms of racism, this is )
priori to any other impacts within the debate round
-emmi ..# /://I 9rofessor :merit%s of So&iolo(y > Unv! ,f 9aris ?l$ert-2 8?5IS/, translate) $y Steve /artinot,
""!1@3-1@5
The struggle against racism will be long, difficult, without intermission, without remission,
probably never achieved, yet for this very reason, it is a struggle to be
undertaken without surcease and without concessions. One cannot be indulgent
toward racism . One cannot even let the monster in the house, especially not in a mask. To give
it merely a foothold means to augment the bestial part in us and in other people which is to diminish
what is human. To accept the racist universe to the slightest degree is to
endorse fear, injustice, and violence. It is to accept the persistence of the dark history in
which we still largely live. It is to agree that the outsider will always be a possible victim (and which
[person man is not [themself himself an outsider relative to someone else!".#acism illustrates in
sum, the inevitable negativity of the condition of the dominated$ that is it illuminates in a certain
sense the entire human condition . The anti%racist struggle, difficult though it is, and always
in &uestion, is nevertheless one of the prologues to the ultimate passage from animality to humanity . In that sense,
we cannot fail to rise to the racist challenge. 'owever, it remains true that one(s moral
conduct only emerges from a choice) one has to want it. It is a choice among other
choices, and always debatable in its foundations and its conse&uences. *et us say, broadly
speaking, that the choice to conduct oneself morally is the condition for the establishment
of a human order for which racism is the very negation. This is almost a redundancy. One
cannot found a moral order, let alone a legislative order, on racism because racism signifies
the e+clusion of the other and his or her subjection to violence and
domination. ,rom an ethical point of view, if one can deploy a little religious language, racism is
-the truly capital sin..fn// It is not an accident that almost all of humanity(s spiritual
traditions counsel respect for the weak, for orphans, widows, or strangers. 0ll things
considered, we have an interest in banishing injustice, because injustice engenders
violence and death. Of course, this is debatable. There are those who think that if one is strong enough, the assault on and
oppression of others is permissible. 1ut no one is ever sure of remaining the strongest. One day, perhaps, the roles will be reversed.
0ll unjust society contains within itself the seeds of its own death. It is probably
smarter to treat others with respect so that they treat you with respect. In short, the
refusal of racism is the condition for all theoretical and practical morality.
1ecause, in the end, the ethical choice commands the political choice . 0 just society must be a
society accepted by all. If this contractual principle is not accepted, then only conflict, violence, and
destruction will be our lot. If it is accepted, we can hope someday to live in peace. True, it is a wager, but the
stakes are irresistible.
/inally, racism only strengthens the biopolitical border as a means of exclusion0
the racist is the one who loo$s towards the inferiority of others and
establishes them as dead, valueless ob,ects that are disposable0 the
impact is all forms of violence
/oucault 12# A/i&hel, So&iety /%st $e Defen)e): 3e&t%res at the 5olle(e )e #ran&e, 1BC5-1BC@, "! 25D-25C Trans!
Davi) /a&eyE
Houston Lamar JC
+hat in fa&t is racismF It is primarily a way of introducing a brea$ into the domain of life
that is under power3s control4 the brea$ between what must live and what
must die.1%t ra&ism )oes ma*e the relationshi" of 'ar-GIf yo% 'ant to live, the other m%st )ieG - f%n&tion
in a 'ay that is &om"letely ne' an) that is ;%ite &om"ati$le 'ith the e0er&ise of $io"o'er! ,n the one han),
racism ma$es it possible to establish a relationship between my life and
the death of the other that is not a military or warlike relationship of confrontation,
but a biological-type relationship: "he more inferior species die out,
the more abnormal indi!iduals are eliminated, the fe'er )e(enerates there 'ill
$e in the s"e&ies as a 'hole, an) the more Ias s"e&ies rather than in)ivi)%al-&an live, the stron(er I 'ill $e,
the more vi(oro%s I 'ill $e! I 'ill $e a$le to "roliferate!G There is a )ire&t &onne&tion $et'een the t'o! In a
normali-in( so&iety, race or racism is the precondition that ma$es $illing
acceptable .5hen you have a normali6ing society, you have a power which is, at least
superficially, in the first instance, or in the first line a biopower, and ra&ism is the in)is"ensa$le
"re&on)ition that allo's someone to $e *ille), that allo's others to $e *ille) )nd we can also understand
why racism should have developed in modern societies that function in the biopower mode% we can
understand why racism bro$e out at a number of privileged moments, and why they were precisely
the moments when the right to ta$e life was imperative! Racism first develops with
coloni6ation, or in other words, with coloni6ing genocide !f you are
functioning in the biopower mode, how can you "ustify the need to kill
people, to kill populations, and to kill ci!ili#ations$ By using the themes of
e!olutionism, by appealing to a racism . %ar. &ow can one not only wage war on
one's ad!ersaries but also e(pose one's own citi#ens to war, and let them be killed by the
million )and this is precisely what has been going on since the nineteenth century, or since the
second half of the nineteenth century*, e(cept by acti!ating the theme of racism
Houston Lamar JC
)dvocacy
5e therefore advocate for the symbolic destruction of the 7nited 8tates0-exico
Border by opening up new discussions of the rhetoric used in debate to include
the voices of the oppressed that are homogeni6ed by the topic
Houston Lamar JC
Chapter 9 is Rhetoric
The term '+ispanic* is a racist :yes you heard that right, R)C!8T; marginali6ation
of all North, 8outh and Central )merican people that furthers biopolitical
exclusion 5e use the word +ispanic to describe the individuals who live in the
geographical proximity from -exico to )rgentina blindly, not reali6ing that each
and every individual belongs to a nation, and that the word itself is misused and
irrelevant, as it refers to an ethnicity yet is so easily interchangeable with race
The use of such a word symbolically ,ustifies the biopolitical border by labeling all
humans south of the 78 border as one homogenous population that are simply
puppets in the games of debate and politics
)i6enberg <=# Se"t 21 1B8B, HHIIiva ,H7i((insJHH Ne' Kor* Times <:)itor Thomas ?n)re ,6Leefe=
:)na ?i-en$er(Hs Se"t! 21 letter <HHIIiva ,H7i((insJHH=, )e&ryin( the ten)en&y to la$el as 7is"ani&s only those 3atin
?meri&ans 'ith o$vio%s S"anish s%rnames, i(nores the a$s%r)ity of the term HH7is"ani&!HH This ra&ist term , as
(enerally a""lie) in the Unite) States, a""ears to have $een a +ashin(ton $%rea%&rati& &oina(e of the 1BC0Hs that
$e&ame 'i)es"rea) shortly thereafter! The term l%m"s millions of "eo"le from )ifferent ra&ial, ethni&,
reli(io%s, so&ioe&onomi& an) &%lt%ral $a&*(ro%n)s 'ho %s%ally have little in &ommon
e0&e"t, "erha"s, lan(%a(e! It is ra&ist $e&a%se it says to the "eo"le to 'hom it is a""lie)
that they are too %nim"ortant an) insi(nifi&ant for the s"ea*er to $other learnin( an)
a""re&iatin( the )ifferen&e amon( their &o%ntries ! +orse, as "o"%larly %se) in the Northeast,
7is"ani& has &ome to si(nify a ne' ra&e, someone of mi0e) 'hite an) $la&* $loo) 2 or in
the So%th'est, someone of mi0e) ?meri&an In)ian an) :%ro"ean an&estry!
The Role of the Ballot is to vote for the team that best engages in critical
pedagogy in regards to misused rhetoric as well as examining its educative
properties% our criticism of the border is a combination of both 8tructural
violence is debated all over the nation on this topic, but people still use the terms
'+ispanic* and '(atin )merican* in their cases and speech#s carelessly !n reality,
rhetoric is the only form of speech in a debate round, as we are all going for a
ballot, our interpretation is the best way to evaluate the round, as both sides of
this debate want the ,udge to essentially agree with their side through persuasive
argumentation and clash '(atin )merican* is a &urocentric locus of power that
feeds off the term '+ispanic*
Houston Lamar JC
Chapter " is >edagogy
8ymbolically destroying the border re?uires genealogical recognition, it is a way
to mute the biopolitical structures that attempt to codify it in the name of profit
No longer will we assign racist bigotry upon two continents worth of populations
This opens up a new understanding of relationships and allows for economic
engagement as well as discussion in the context of debate
-olina ..# 2000 3ino Menealo(y: Niet-s&he, Dele%-e an) #o%&a%lt The 5alifornia Un)er(ra)%ate 9hiloso"hy
8evie' htt":..'''!fresnostate!e)%."hiloso"hy.)o&%ments./olina-5U981-1!")f
Menealo(y is a hermene%ti&al form of analysis an) &riti;%e s"r%n(N from the min) of the Merman
"hiloso"her #rie)ri&h +ilhelmN Niet-s&he! Unli*e the Lantian &riti&al theory of analysis, 'hi&hN fo&%ses on lo(i&al
&onsisten&ies an) in&onsisten&ies, (enealo(yN instea) loo*s at thin(s thro%(h a histori&al lens an)
"ro$lemati-esN all that stan)s as an iss%e to one as 'ell as to the )evelo"ment of
h%manity! Menealo(y is a histori&al hermene%ti&al analysis an) N &riti;%e 'hi&h is
f%n)amentally anti-realist, anti-)iale&ti&al an)N a(ainst the as&eti& i)eal to th%s test the theoreti&al an) "ra&ti&alN &re)i$ility
of i)eas an) "ra&ti&es, en) them thro%(h transformationN an) sho' ne' "ath'ays to'ar)s the
affirmation of life 3astly, IN 'o%l) li*e to note that 'hen I analy-e Niet-s&he6s three essays I 'illN (ive a very $roa)
overvie' of their &ontents so as to (ive more timeN for Dele%-e an) #o%&a%lt!
There is no more '+ispanic*, no one is a '+ispanic*, and there is no '(atin
)merica*, we refer to the geographical proximity from -exico to )rgentina as
North, Central, and 8outh )merica 5hen we stop homogeni6ing populations we
lead to a form of >edagogy which further advances learning and understanding in
debate @ur resistance to the system is the only true opposition% active opposition
only furthers the very systems of dominance that oppress the people we spea$ of
Baudrillard <1# 1=<1, AOean, Sim%la&ra an) Sim%lation "! 8D-8@E
+ith one &a%tion! +e are fa&e to fa&e 'ith this system in a )o%$le sit%ation an) insol%$le )o%$le $in) P e0a&tly li*e
&hil)ren fa&e) 'ith the )eman)s of the a)%lt 'orl)! 5hil)ren are sim%ltaneo%sly re;%ire) to &onstit%te themselves as
a%tonomo%s s%$4e&ts, res"onsi$le, free an) &ons&io%s, an) to &onstit%te themselves as s%$missive, inert, o$e)ient,
&onformin( o$4e&ts! The &hil) resists on all levels, an) to a &ontra)i&tory )eman) he res"on)s 'ith a )o%$le strate(y2
To the )eman) of $ein( an o$4e&t he o""oses all the "ra&ti&es of )iso$e)ien&e, of revolt, of eman&i"ation2 in short, a
total &laim to s%$4e&thoo)! To the )eman) of $ein( a s%$4e&t he o""oses, 4%st as o$stinately, an) effi&a&io%sly, an
o$4e&tHs resistan&e, that is to say, e0a&tly the o""osite: &hil)ishness, hy"er&onformism, total )e"en)en&e, "assivity,
i)io&y: Neither strate(y has more o$4e&tive val%e than the other! The su!ect0 resistance is today
unilaterally valori1ed and viewed as positive0!ust as in the political sphere only the
practices of freedom, eman&i"ation, e0"ression, and the constitution of a political su!ect are
seen as valuale and suversive ! 1%t this is to i(nore the e;%al, an) 'itho%t a )o%$t s%"erior, im"a&t of all
the o$4e&t "ra&ti&es, of the ren%n&iation of the s%$4e&t "osition an) of meanin(-"re&isely the "ra&ti&es of the masses-
that 'e $%ry %n)er the )erisory terms of alienation an) "assivity! The lierating practices respond to
one of the aspects of the system, to the &onstant %ltimat%m 'e are (iven to &onstit%te o%rselves as "%re
o$4e&ts, ut they do not respond at all to the other demand , that of &onstit%tin( o%rselves as
s%$4e&ts, of li$eratin( o%rselves, e0"ressin( o%rselves at 'hatever &ost, of voting, producing, )e&i)in(, s"ea*in(,
participating, playing the game0a form of lackmail and ultimatum !ust as serious as the other, even more serio%s
to)ay! To a system 'hose ar(%ment is o""ression an) re"ression, the strate(i& resistan&e is the li$eratin( &laim of
s%$4e&thoo)! 1%t this strate(y is more refle&tive of the earlier "hase of the system, an) even if 'e are still &onfronte)
'ith it, it is no lon(er the strate(i& terrain: the current argument of the system is to ma#imi1e
speech, the ma0im%m "ro)%&tion of meanin(! Th%s the strategic resistance is that of the refusal of
meaning and of the spoken word0or of the hyperconformist simulation of the very
mechanisms of the system , which is a form of refusal and of non0 reception ! It is the
Houston Lamar JC
strate(y of the masses: it is e%uivalent to re0 turning to the system its own logic y douling it ,
to refle&tin( meanin(, li*e a mirror, without asoring it! This strate(y <if one &an still s"ea* of strate(y=
"revails to)ay, $e&a%se it 'as %shere) in $y that "hase of the system 'hi&h "revails! To &hoose the 'ron( strate(y is
a serio%s matter! 2ll the movements that only play on lieration , emancipation , on the
resurrection of a subject of history, of the group, of the word ased on 3consciousness raising ,G indeed a
"raising of the unconscious" of subjects and of the masses, do not see that they are going in the direction
of the system, whose imperative today is precisely the overproduction and
regeneration of meaning and of speech .
5e do not need a redefinition of terms0 the empty gap that arises from the
deletion of context is the absolute endpoint of our rhetoric )ny attempt at
formulating a wording mechanism will reaffirm the very systems of oppression
that allow for and promote the exclusion of all people south of the border, that#s
our Baudrillard evidence, our resistance to the system is an ability to symbolically
destroy it There is no need to create new linguistic concepts that reify the
homogeni6ing of populations The destruction of such terms is the only way to
resist rather than oppose the system @ur advocacy is not liberation% it is a
resistant form of pedagogy that ignores the system that demands such rhetoric
Airoux 1"#, 7enry, Oan%ary 20
th
, 2013 Intervie' 'ith OosQ /arRa 1arroso TristSn
htt":..'''!(lo$ale)%&ationma(a-ine!&om.&riti&al-intervie'-henry-(iro%0.
#irst, I thin* it is $est to thin* of &riti&al "e)a(o(y as an on(oin( "ro4e&t instea) of a fi0e) set of
referen&es or "res&ri"tive set of "ra&ti&esP"%t $l%ntly, it is not a metho)! ,ne 'ay of thin*in(
a$o%t &riti&al "e)a(o(y in these terms is to thin* of it as $oth a 'ay of %n)erstan)in(
e)%&ation as 'ell as a 'ay of hi(hli(htin( the "erformative nat%re of a(en&y as an a&t of
"arti&i"atin( in sha"in( the 'orl) in 'hi&h 'e live! 1%t I thin* the $est "la&e to $e(in to ans'er this
;%estion is to re&o(ni-e the )istin&tion $et'een a &onservative notion of tea&hin( an) the more "ro(ressive meanin( of
&riti&al "e)a(o(y! Tea&hin( for many &onservatives is often treate) sim"ly as a set of strate(ies an) s*ills to %se in or)er
to tea&h "res"e&ifie) s%$4e&t matter! In this &onte0t, tea&hin( $e&omes synonymo%s 'ith a metho), te&hni;%e, or the
"ra&ti&e of a &raftTli*e s*ill trainin(! ,n the other han), &riti&al "e)a(o(y m%st $e seen as a "oliti&al
an) moral "ro4e&t an) not a te&hni;%e! 9e)a(o(y is al'ays "oliti&al $e&a%se it is
&onne&te) to the a&;%isition of a(en&y! ?s a "oliti&al "ro4e&t, &riti&al "e)a(o(y
ill%minates the relationshi" s amon( *no'le)(e, a%thority, an) "o'er ! It )ra's attention to
;%estions &on&ernin( 'ho has &ontrol over the &on)itions for the "ro)%&tion of *no'le)(e, val%es, an) s*ills, an) it
ill%minates ho' *no'le)(e, i)entities, an) a%thority are &onstr%&te) 'ithin "arti&%lar sets of so&ial relations! Similarly, it
)ra's attention to the fa&t that "e)a(o(y is a )eli$erate attem"t on the "art of e)%&ators
to infl%en&e ho' an) 'hat *no'le)(e an) s%$4e&tivities are "ro)%&e) 'ithin "arti&%lar
sets of so&ial relations!
/inally, Debate is a place for the voice of the oppressed B this is the $ey arena for
our advocacy
(ee =<# :)'ar) 1BB8 /emoir of a #ormer Ur$an De$ate 3ea(%e 9arti&i"ant "%$lishe) in 5?D for%m, ")f availa$le
here htt":..'''!&e)a)e$ate!or(.5?D.in)e0!"h".5?D.arti&le.vie'.233.21C
De$atin( )elivers a (ala0y of alternatives an) o""ort%nity for those 'ho are only offere)
ho"elessness an) )es"air! To this )ay, I remem$er learnin( that meat, violen&e, an) the "rison system itself 'ere %nne&essary
elements of o%r &%lt%re that e0iste) $e&a%se they <"re)ominantly= (o %n;%estione)! De$atin( for&es %s to a$an)on "re)etermine) notions
of &orre&tness in li(ht of 'ell-reasone) alternatives! U%estionin( the very nat%re of o%r e0isten&e is at the heart of the )e$ate "ro&ess! I am
left 'on)erin( 'hat 'o%l) o&&%r if )e$ate $e&ame as &om"%lsory in inner-&ity e)%&ational &%lt%re as foot$all an) $as*et$allF Ima(ine
(ra)%atin( from hi(h s&hool ea&h year millions of %n)er"rivile(e) teena(ers 'ith the a$ility to arti&%late their nee)s, the nee)s of others,
an) the a$ility to offer sol%tions! I am &onvin&e) that someone 'o%l) $e for&e) to listen!
Ur$an De$ate 3ea(%es offer a "e)a(o(i&al tool that sim%ltaneo%sly o"ens the min) to alternatives
an) em"o'ers st%)ents to ta*e &ontrol of their lives! 7alf of the time, st%)ents are )isseminatin( information
Houston Lamar JC
an) formin( ar(%ments a$o%t &om"le0 "hiloso"hi&al an) "oliti&al iss%es! In the other half, they ans'er the ar(%ments of others! Self-
refle0ivity is an inherent "art of the a&tivity! De$atin( (ives st%)ents the a$ility to arti&%late the "artiality of
all &riti&al assessments! 5ontem"orary e)%&ational te&hni;%es tea&h one si)e of the iss%e an) %niversali-e it as the only
tr%th! De$ate for&es st%)ents to eval%ate $oth si)es, an) )etermine their in)e"en)ent &onte0t%ali-e) tr%th! ?))iontally, %nli*e the &%rrent
"e)a(o(y, )e$ate allo's everythin( to $e ;%estione)! 7o' often are yo% a$le to ar(%e the merits of 'ritin(s $y
?%)re 3or)e 'hen &om"are) to +illiam Sha*es"eare 'ith yo%r :n(lish tea&herF 7o' often are yo% a$le to &hallen(e yo%r history
"rofessor on the fa&ts a$o%t 5hristo"her 5ol%m$%s6 e0"e)itions or the ne&essity of n%&lear 'ea"ons %se )%rin( +orl) +ar IIF The
a$ility to ;%estion s%$4e&tivities "resente) as the o$4e&tive tr%th ma*es )e$ate %ni;%ely
em"o'erin( for in)ivi)%als )isenfran&hise) $y the &%rrent system ! It tea&hes st%)ents to
interro(ate their o'n instit%tionali-e) ne(le&t an) the systemi& %nhin)ere) o""ression of
others! It is one of the fe' ven%es in 'hi&h 'e are a$le to ;%estion a%thority!