Socrates, Shakespeare, and the merits of Debate

Today in your class we read Shakespeare and talked about the death penalty. Ben wrote a paragraph not just praising the death penalty, but recommending that we put more people to death and speed up the process.

His position outraged me, and looking back I think I may have actually been angry (though I wouldn’t have admitted it). I’m not a violent person, and it wasn’t an anger that made me want to hurt him, but sitting in my chair I shot up my hand wanting more than anything else to expose him as a fool. Just tear his whole paragraph to shreads- push him and his position into a corner until the only thing he could think to do is break down and say ‘I don’t know. I don’t know why I want to execute people’.

I think I could have done it if you hadn’t interrupted me. If you hadn’t insisted we hear from someone else and let me have go back and forth with him, I could have beaten him. And I would have really enjoyed it.

Now no matter what I said I don’t think he would have admitted that he was wrong, and I was right. It’s comforting to our egos to think that our beliefs are built on a foundation strong enough to withstand a twenty minute debate. If you rattle someone’s beliefs to the point that they cant even think of any response, you should consider the battle won. I hope Ben left the class thinking about what he should have said to me. He’s got time now and can think without the fear of appearing foolish in front of a class. It’s my position that if thinks hard enough about it he’ll come to the realization that I was right, but if after thinking all he has is a better rebuttal against what I said, at least he has built his position ontop of some reason.

What about Marc Antony though? He approached the forum with sympathy and grace and he won the crowd’s allegiance. What would Socrates have to say about it? Antony got what he wanted after pulling some tricks on the audience, but how long could he count on support if he dodged the real issues?

Is it better to be loved, or to be right? Having slick soundbites and lowering expectations can win you elections. George W. Bush won the presidency the same way Antony won the crowd, but now I’m sure there are some people who wish they had known more about his individual policies before voting.