Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to Best exchange in quite a while

Thank you, Mr. Fox, sir.
Robert — (archived)

On top of the satisfaction of having a reasonable discussion, adopting the old-style courtliness of formal debate is enjoyable for its own sake. It's partly a game, of course, but its echoes of history and sense of participation in a long American tradition make it a meaningful game.

I was thinking about how this medium can support that old style in the modern age, in a way that the modern platforms of TV sound bites and scripted "debates" cannot. Imagine, if you will, that we convince candidates to come to a forum like this. They'd make their statements, address each other, and the audience could compose follow up questions and could discuss the statements among themselves. The slow, thoughtful pace, should produce a much deeper understanding of the candidates...or reveal their shallowness. Either way, the people win.

Which would scare the beejezus out of the politicians!

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (84 posts)