BY BORDI JAEN
DEBATE is an important activity, especially for the youth. It is the boat that will help us navigate the chaotic river of fake news, misinformation and problems that our present society is mired in. It is something that must be inculcated in our youth. It encompasses so many benefits to the individual as well. Give me the liberty of listing the major ones.
If you dissect a proper debate, you will notice that it is simply an organized arrangement of contrasting information, aimed at reaching a conclusion that can satisfy a problem both sides are trying to solve. With this format, it allows the learners to defuse a situation by first analyzing the problem and the factors of the situation. One cannot debate without first understanding the premise of it. It would be like a knight riding out into the battle field without a horse, armor or sword. When you go to social media, you see so many people who argue without understanding their premise. Those people certainly need a lesson or two in debate.
Debate makes one articulate their thoughts in a concise manner because the goal is to let them understand what you’re arguing about, sometimes along with a spectating audience. It improves communicative skills. How can one expect a proper response without a proper statement? So many of our problems stem from bad communication or the lack of it. Just imagine a world filled with critical thinkers! World peace is right in the bag.
In debate, it is important to hear the other side out. A good debater understands the arguments of the opposing side and why they argue that way. It is unjust for a debater to only think of his arguments. A good debate round is not only judged by how good a debater constructs his argument, but as well as how he is good at responding to what the other side debates. In life, it is also important to have a sense of empathy to hear the other side out, because not everyone views the world with the same lenses as we do. For a person to be heard out, it is important for one to take into what the other side understands. Imagine the judge in the court room only hearing out one side. Where is the justice in that?
Ironically, debate leads to less debate, at least the unintelligible garble. This is because debating allows one to let the mind rule over the heart. Sometimes, we tend to let our emotions get the best of us and regret things that cannot be undone. Because debate hones the skill of critical thinking and analysis, we can figure the situation out from the facts and know when to debate and what to say. Sometimes, the minds of some people cannot be changed, whether from stupidity or experience and that’s okay. The world will still move. Debate teaches us to be salesmen. Not everyone will buy the idea of reality we pitch but we don’t yell at the people for not buying it, we accept and we move on to the next one.
The most obvious benefit is the person becomes more knowledgeable. It is difficult to win a debate without information, reading, and educating oneself about numerous topics. An extended understanding and view of the world brings one closer to enlightenment. Apathetic individuals do not help much in our society and the more educated we are, the more we see and understand the problems of our world. Our skills of critical thinking will bring us ever closer to solving not only our immediate problems, but that of society’s as well. This is why debate is an important activity for the youth. It is to us that the mantle of society will be passed on from the generation of our parents. Let us equip ourselves with the skills that will bring us a step closer to the society we aspire to be in. Debate is an activity that will hone these skills. To my fellow youth, I highly encourage you to debate. If you want to change the world, let that change begin from within yourself./PN
