I am constantly amused by the level of hatred someone expresses when called out on their bull crap. I got into a debate, recently, with someone over a hateful comment they made about children. Their response was not to say it was inappropriate. Instead, it was to say that it was justified because..... Yeah, there's no response that makes calling children "garbage" okay. None. When they simply couldn't argue the debate anymore, they resorted to name-calling. This seems to be the new norm.
If you are debating a topic with someone and run out of information to back up your facts, you've LOST the debate. If you cannot properly explain your facts, you've LOST the debate. If you have to name-call to respond, you've LOST the debate. It's not about who can yell more loudly. It's not about who can laugh in the other's face or create laughing emoticons online, in the case of a keyboard warrior. Debating is about who can back up their argument to the point that it is so thoroughly discussed and fact-checked that it's near impossible to prove it wrong.
Once again, this leads me back to one of my favorite phrases: educate yourself. Educate yourself on your passions, whatever they are. Don't just spew one hit wonder headlines; speak truth into everything you debate. Make your argument so fact-filled that it's flawless (or as close to flawless as it can be.) Don't name call because it shows how tiny your mind truly is.
The generation of twenty somethings coming up needs to heed this call. We truly need more intelligent conversation and less "I know you are but what am I?"
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