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Curmudgeonly Throughts on the State of Policy Debate

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Curmudgeonly Throughts on the State of Policy Debate CURMUDGEONLY THOUGHTS ON THE STATE OF POLICY DEBATE by Larry Smith The overarching assumption regard- or common citizen to judge a debate. The in the critique arguments that have been ing competitive debate ought to be that result is often, "What in hell are these kids spawned and spread into high school de- the activity is an educational one. The ex- doing?" Certainly this public perception of bate in the past few years. Critiques take tension of that assumption is that any ac- the activity is not what the forensic educa- two (maybe more) avenues, neither of tivity that is designated as educational tional community would like to broadcast which contribute anything useful to what should have as an end result some appli- regarding the value of competitive speech is supposed to occur in a high school de- cable knowledge or skills gained by the activity as an "educational" experience all bate. The avenues are born of the recent participants which could be applied in real students should receive. rage to be politically correct in all senses, life. There are several questions that need but particularly in language choices. Po- Any formulation of a policy or a to be answered regarding the problems litically correct loosely translates into "non change in policy requires a careful and many see in the arena of high school policy offensive" language...non offensive to any- thorough consideration and communica- debate. The first question is what seems to one, anywhere, anytime if that is possible tion of the net effects of the application of be root cause of this decline? Secondly, in making language choices. (I suspect the the policy. This would be true from the very what specific practices springing from same people who examine language micro level of a family attempting to de- these root causes are destroying policy de- choices for political correctness are also re- termine something as simple as the policy bate? Third, what could be done to return sponsible for the gobbledygook language for bedtime for children to the complex policy debate to a truly valid and valuable of governmental agencies, but that is an- macro policy decisions regarding the gov- educational activity? other article.) ernance of a nation. From a strictly biased and personal Negative teams have seized on the Educationally students participating position, high school debate has been critique (or kritik or kritick or other strange in policy debate competition should be wrested from the school classroom and the variations on the word) as another means learning to examine policies inherent in high school debate teacher. University "de- to play a game against affirmatives. Some the annual debate resolution and through bate camps" have promulgated the current teams argue that affirmative policy must exhaustive research and information gath- abuses of the activity by turning it into a be rejected because the terms of the debate ering be able to formulate coherent argu- game of theory arguments. Those who sit resolution contain offensive language ments for or against a particular policy. in the ivory towers of academia examining choices. This absurdity becomes an argu- That is supposed to be what policy debate rhetorical communication and persuasion ment in the round, even though the affir- is all about....and by extension, it is sup- theory are also, unfortunately, the same mative has no choice regarding the word- posed to be teaching them the methods and people who instruct high school debaters ing of the resolution. In the jargon of de- skills required in real life decision mak- in weeks long institutes. baters, it is nothing but a "time suck" that ing. It should be a training ground for fu- At the university level ongoing re- conceivably could have a place in a real ture leaders. search and the publish or perish dictum are world discussion regarding policy word- That would be the ideal, education- the driving factors to retain instructional ing formulation, but should not appear in ally speaking. Unfortunately policy debate positions. Job security dictates constant academic debate. For example, I could see at the interscholastic level has degenerated thinking and evolution into new interpre- in the real world how language choices in the past decade to something less than tations and "knowledge" that can be pub- could be important in encoding a policy, what its name would imply. Rather, policy lished or presented to other colleagues at but to argue that affirmatives are respon- debate has become an activity that is more conventions and conferences. (One has sible for the wording of a debate a complex theory game, played by a very only to sit through some of these presenta- resolution's "offensive" terminology is an select few for a very select audience that tions to realize just how far beyond the egregious abuse of academic research into subscribes to this "game" approach. The norm some are. The facetious observation language effect that is better left to doc- decline nationwide of the number of regarding doctoral dissertations is true. To toral dissertations. schools which participate in policy debate obtain a Ph.D. one researches and learns A second abuse of the critique argu- is evidence enough that something has more and more about less and less, then ment is for either team to object to some gone wrong in the state of debate. In policy publishes the findings. Usually to no use- language choice by the other. Again, this debate rounds very little in the way of ful purpose in the real world.) is an abuse of time that could be better spent "policy" in a real world sense is ever de- Critiques debating specific issues in the round. David bated. While these efforts are expected and Hingstman offers in the Rostrum (March From an educational viewpoint this encouraged at the university level, they 1997) an example of a critique argument is profoundly disturbing. Future genera- should have little, if any, influence on high heard in a round. "...scapegoating and age- tions are being deprived of the skills re- school students. Unfortunately that is not ism kritiks ask the judge not to treat juve- quired in making sound policy decisions. what happens. A good example of this nile crime as a special social Ask any attorney, teacher, businessperson, abuse of knowledge by application appears problem...because it stigmatizes juveniles and masks adult crime and becomes a self of absurdity when debaters find obscure dribbling down to policy debate is that in- fulfilling prophecy." And he shows an af- definitions for words such as "to", "for", volved in the logic of the decision making firmative abuse of the game of critiquing, "by" and "federal" and try to apply those process. Specifically the whole issue of "The kritik often asks the judge to ignore definitions to challenge the validity of the cause and effect has disappeared from de- disadvantages that are grounded in the sec- affirmative plan's adherence to the word- bate. Debate jargon used to include ondary consequences of the plan because ing of the resolution. Too often the whole inherency (current policy or lack of policy) of the interests of marginalized groups or topicality argument comes down to "our and significance (harms). Debaters on the peoples (racially or genderized others)." dictionary (source) is better than theirs." affirmative had to demonstrate a cause-ef- The search for political correctness Even worse, topicality arguments, often fect relationship between inherent policy in language choices should be left to the multiple arguments on multiple words or and some sort of societal harms. ivory towers of communication research phrases, seem to consume entire first nega- Somewhere, probably at those same and learned papers. It has no place in high tive time blocks. I once judged a round at institutes, someone decreed that inherency school policy debate if educationally the nationals where the negative team asked was not an issue. The resolution exists, goal is to teach students to discover the real my preferences. Among other preferences, therefore there must be a problem with the world processes of policy decision making. I noted I was not a big fan of topicality policy related to the resolution. Negatives Specifically no judge should ever decide a arguments. What did first negative do? He were absolved of having to defend any cur- debate round on the basis of who did or stood up and read (at 400 wpm) eight min- rent policy because none is mentioned by did not use "offensive" language choices. utes worth of topicality briefs! Nothing on affirmatives. To be sure, affirmatives can The critique arguments are nothing more inherency. (more about that later) Nothing offer harms...dead bodies on the podium, than an attempt to avoid the real issues in on significance. Just topicality, not one of or other societal harms or risks...but rarely policy debate and to intervene in the deci- the arguments really applicable to the af- will a clear indictment of status quo poli- sion the judge makes by forcing the judge firmative plan. (I had listened to the plan. cies be made to show the direct cause of to consider irrelevant issues. It was topical, at least reasonably so, which those alleged harms. Negatives rarely Topicality is the standard I usually apply.) In sum, bother to question affirmative's assumption A second theory argument that has topicality, which should be an issue only that current policy is the direct cause of been distorted well beyond its original in- rarely if affirmatives are following the rule these harms. tent is topicality. The rules of debate (of of offering a plan to implement the resolu- In a real world decision making pro- which there are only four or five) state that tion has become THE issue for first nega- cess when some sort of harm is evident the the affirmative team must offer a new policy tives and even is being introduced into a first question to ask before implementing that implements the wording of the reso- debate by some second negatives.
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