On the Other Hand: Argue More! Argue Better!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""I think it is bad that we don\u2019t teach kids to argue more."\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2011\/07\/on-the-other-hand-argue-more-argue-better\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On the Other Hand: Argue More! 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{"id":12629,"date":"2011-07-26T14:01:15","date_gmt":"2011-07-26T18:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christandpopculture.com\/?p=12629"},"modified":"2011-07-26T14:01:15","modified_gmt":"2011-07-26T18:01:15","slug":"on-the-other-hand-argue-more-argue-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2011\/07\/on-the-other-hand-argue-more-argue-better\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Other Hand: Argue More! Argue Better!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Each week in\u00a0On the Other Hand<\/strong>, Ben Bartlett defies the common wisdom and identifies the other side of the story of cultural hot-topic issues.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to be nice and not argue all the time.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been hearing this my entire life, because I am hopelessly addicted to debate and it drives everyone around me crazy.\u00a0 They tell me that I need to be more giving, that I need to back down, and that if I have a difference of opinion it\u2019s better to say, \u201cI guess we just have to agree to disagree,\u201d which incidentally is one of my least favorite phrases in the English language.<\/p>\n

There has been a lot in the news lately about various high-level arguments and negotiations; the NFL, the NBA, Egypt, and of course the debt limit.\u00a0 Perhaps I\u2019m merely growing grumpy, but it seems to me that people are less confident in the ability of leaders at various levels to bring negotiations to healthy, satisfying conclusions.\u00a0 And I am shocked at the comfort level many people show with the idea of enacting the, \u201cnuclear option,\u201d or killing negotiations completely for the sake of making a point or allowing a bad result.<\/p>\n

So my, \u201cOn the Other Hand,\u201d\u00a0for the week is this:\u00a0I think it is bad that we don\u2019t teach kids to argue more.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, I don\u2019t mean kids should argue more often.\u00a0 I mean we should spend more time teaching them how to argue effectively.<\/p>\n

Good argument is a progression toward a workable solution.\u00a0 It is built on fallacy-free thinking, buttressed by factual supporting evidence, and it is willing to compromise in areas of uncertainty.\u00a0 Knowing how to argue well shows itself in your writing, in your ability to speak with calmness and restraint, and in your willingness to keep coming back to the table until a solution is reached<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a world where the label, \u201cdebate,\u201d is unhelpfully attached to long streams of anonymous profanity-laced comments on an internet message board, excellent debate skills are seemingly less appreciated than the ability to grandstand, to get your message into the media, and to hurt your opponent\u2019s image <\/a>in the wider culture.\u00a0 This should not be.<\/p>\n

So I encourage you, in the spirit of this article, teach your kids how to argue well<\/a>!\u00a0 We need fewer pompous egos and grand speeches about arguments that should be happening behind closed doors.\u00a0 We need fewer clusters of leaders holding large numbers of people hostage because they\u2019re angry.\u00a0 Instead, what we really need are a few good arguments.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"