Harlan's Debates

Torture is inhumane and horrific. I do not care what the circumstances are, and I don't care if they are not an american or not; the government should never have the right to torture a human being. Torture cannot be justified, period. It is to cause them extreme pain in order to get what you want. There is no doubt that the Government will take advantage of this right. Things like this kill democracy. Things like this slowly drown (no reference to the current issue intended) democracy t...

Hey Harlan, I apologize for being unable to post on the first debate. I've been swamped with school and homework lately and just haven't had time. I am very interested in this topic and I look forward to debating it with you. My opening topic is in response to your original opening statement. Feel free just to repost your original opening statement and add a response to mine. I was once in your shoes Harlan. I completely hated homework. It was trivial to me. I would get the same grades...

Patriotism is unhealthy and delusional. (I can assure you that I have seen patriotism at its worst; I live in Texas) It is often the cause of war, poverty and over all negative affect over the human race. I will start off addressing the bewildering question of: What is a nation? A nation is nothing. It is all in everyone's head. It is just an illusion, it is not real; it's just a different colored place on the globe; It is just a certain area of land, enclosed by imaginary borders; con...

Good morning I bid to the Madam Speaker, righteous adjudicators, honourable timekeeper, my fellow comrades, doomed adversaries, and members of the floor. I am here today as the Prime Minister of the government bench to construct the debate on the topic the Internet brings more harm than good. The parameter of this topic is global. The Internet's definition by wikipedia is a "network of networks". The Internet has brought a lot of good points, but as with any tool, I would like to add that...

To ban flag burning would be to deny our first amendment rights. It is a way to express our opinion. The support for a law banning flag burning does not come from any sort of idealism for public safety. It comes from blind, slave-like, obsessive patriotism. To deny our first amendment right would make many people, such as myself, very indignant. It would actually hurt public safety. Personally, I think that the Constitution should represent America more than a piece of cloth (often made in...

I am aware that most will dismiss arguments such as this (especially those without children) as the complaining of a child, but please take my arguments seriously. School is difficult enough already (especially, for me, currently taking colledge credit classes in the eighth grade); It is the constant source of everyday stress for a child. Eight hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 months a year it is very demanding. From an idealistic standpoint (though I have paticular distaste for idealism), it ed...

Capitolism creates a tense society where everyone is working for self-promotion. All of our (American) society is based on someone trying to outdo someone else; someone trying to sell something to you; Someone trying to use you for a profit. They see you as a way to make money. Next time your outside in a city, take a look around. Theres billboards trying to use you to make a profit. Theres prople walking around with T-shirts that encourage you to give your money to certain large corporations. W...

Before you here my argument, hear this. It is good to believe in something, it truly is; but do not be a slave to that belief. Beliefs change. Do not split your mind in two, and deny contradicting information because you are afraid of being seen as blasphemous. If you're beliefs are true, then you should be able to consider, hear other argumants, and be skeptical, and it will still be true. Splitting your mind is extremely unhealthy. Ponder on your beliefs, and let me start a seed of critical th...

As there are many sub-topics that can be debated within this broad subject, I am choosing to focus purely on the question: Does the United States government have the power to pass legislation that obligates the catholic church to accept gay marriages within their cathedrals? It is my sound opinion that the government does not hold this power. If we look at the principles that the US was founded on, "freedom of speech, press, religion..." we must realize that this directly contradicts our f...