This oft repeated quote first came to public light by Vice President Al Gore. The issue at hand was Global Warming. The phrase has been used a number of times since, and by a number of people over a variety of issues. The issue I am writing about is not Global Warming (since named Global Climate Change), but the statement that "The Time for Debate is Over." I believe we have entered an age where true civil debate is simply impossible. It is my opinion that this phrase should now be, "The Time for Civil Debate is Over."
Politics. Sports. Religion. Arts. Food. Color of the sky. Regardless of the topic, it seems civil discussions are impossible. You are allowed a differing opinion on things, yet you risk being called "idiot" or worse when you do. The art of discussion, debate and conversation seems to be lost in our society. When disagreed with, we simply attempt to shout down the differing opinion. We do not engage the disagreeing party in conversation to attempt to discover greater understanding, we simply use bullying tactics to shut the other party down.
Most times when we disagree with others, there is no logical thinking involved. We refuse to admit that many of our thoughts regarding issues are based on emotion and not logic. When someone presents another opinion, or actual facts, we refuse to believe or agree, and attempt to shout them down.
A fantastic example occurred last college basketball season. Since I live in North Carolina, I am surrounded predominately by fans of Duke University and University of North Carolina. Many times, like many other rivalries, there is an undertone of nastiness between these fans. Last season, UNC and Duke played each other 3 times in men's basketball. Duke won twice, UNC won once. The second time Duke won was the ACC tournament championship game. A couple of weeks later, Duke lost before UNC in the NCAA tournament. At that time, tons of folks in the area posted things on Facebook and other places that UNC lasted a game more in the tournament-which was true. The idea was that obviously UNC was better. They made no mention of losing twice to Duke during the season or anything like that. There was simply glee that Duke lost. There was the appearance that there was more joy for many people that a team lost, than there was that the team they cheer for won.
Duke's coach for men's basketball is Mike Krzyzewski. On television you can often read his lips, and he appears to often use foul language. Each season I hear UNC fans criticize him for his language. They say he should be penalized, he should not talk to his players or the refs that way. When their own coach, Roy Williams, used foul language in a press conference, they make no comments. Admittedly, Coach K uses a ton of foul language during games. That said, he has no idea when a television camera is on him, and he should not care about that during the games. If he is interested in that, his teams would probably not win near as many games as they do. Do I think he should talk that way? No. Is that the first time his players have ever heard that language? Absolutely not. Should refs or the Duke administration punish him for his language? You probably only feel that way if you are a fan of UNC. Should Roy Williams be punished for his language at a press conference when he knows cameras are there? Duke fans would say "yes" I imagine, but UNC fans would say, "What language?"
That is what I mean. The other coach/politician/food critic is an idiot. Fans of one team call the fans of another team inbred, stupid, misguided, and guilty of cheating. Other teams are always cheating. There is no way that other teams are simply better than ours. They must be using steroids, paying players or buying them cars. Double standards are a way of life. Fans of our team are smart, good looking, successful or whatever other platitudes you wish to employ. Fans of the other team shop/work at Wal Mart, live in trailers, have mullets and have no teeth.
While common place in European soccer games, fan-on-fan violence has increased recently in the U.S.. Often fueled by alcohol, fans often loudly and rudely cheer for their team. They often shout obscenities and insults at opposing players and fans alike. This frequently leads to violence. Why can't we just cheer our teams without insulting each other? After all, it is a game!
While I commented on Duke/UNC, the same type of behavior can be seen by crazy fans of most teams. Look at a web site that hosts sports internet forums, and you can see all kinds of ignorant, ridiculous posts. When you have some time to waste, check out http://college.scout.com/ and read some posts on the forums of Alabama and Auburn. While bitter rivals, the vitriol is absolutely out of control.
The internet is filled with insults from an "us against the world" mentality. The same is true of those of opposing political views. Find any political issue, and insults from both sides fly. Disagreement is fine, and robust debate can be helpful and beneficial. As a society, we have crossed the line where debate does not seem to be possible. In my opinion, this is fueled by the ability of people to post anonymously. I don't think the same things would be posted if actual names had to be used. That, and we are simply not a civil, polite society any more.
You are welcome to disagree with me if you wish. Do it publicly and I will call you an idiot, and unfriend you on Facebook. After all, the time for debate is over.
