Will Malson Baudrillard 1AC Page 1 of 6

Contention A1: Inherency

A. In Arabia, there is a major transportation infrastructure in Flying
Carpets!
When the wind's from the east
And the sun's from the west
And the sand in the glass is right
Come on down
Stop on by
Hop a carpet and fly
To another Arabian night
B. But, currently, our magic isn't working.
Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidibobbidiboo
!ut 'em together and what ha"e you got
bibbidibobbidiboo
Contention A2: Harms
A. ight now we're just following the lea!er instea! of getting ahea!.
#ollowing the leader$ the leader$ the leader
We're following the leader where"er he may go
B. "he sooner we reaffirm our lea!ership, the better.
%h$ & 'ust can't wait to be king(
C. #a$ing lea!ership allows us to say ri!iculous things an! get away with it.
%h$ supercalifragilistice)pialidocious(
*"en though the sound of it
&s something +uite atrocious
&f you say it loud enough
,ou'll always sound precocious
Supercalifragilistice)pialidocious(
%. &e must be prepare! to take the ne't step in transportation inno$ation.
-e prepared(
,es$ our teeth and ambitions are bared
-e prepared(
Will Malson Baudrillard 1AC Page 2 of 6
Thus the lan:
"he (nite! )tates fe!eral go$ernment shoul! significantly in$est in it's transportation infrastructure
!y "ishing uon a star that nature ro#ides us "ith a "hole ne" "orld of transortation oortunities that
are incredi!ly chea and are #irtually unanimously acceted !y the u!lic$
Contention A%: &ol#ency
A. "he best things comes from nature.
.ook for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
#orget about your worries and your strife
& mean the bare necessities
%ld /other 0ature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life
B. &ishing upon a star means we get one hun!re! percent sol$ency.
When you wish upon a star
/akes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you
C. *ur plan opens up new energy perspecti$es we coul! ne$er ha$e imagine!.
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of "iew
0o one to tell us no
%r where to go
%r say we're only dreaming
%. *ur plan is e$en better than flying carpets.
,ou can fly( ,ou can fly(
,ou can fly( ,ou can fly(
,ou can fly(
All lyrics from a!o#e are a roerty of the Walt 'isney Comany and "ere found at:
&ong (yrics 'ata!ase) &oundtrac* (yrics) +'isney (yrics,) Accessed 2- .anuary 2--/ at
htt:00"""$stlyrics$com0songs0d0disney6122$html
Will Malson Baudrillard 1AC Page % of 6
3f course "e aren4t really serious a!out all this$ What "e4#e 5ust done is sho"n the fantasy "orld that
de!ate has !ecome$ 3ur erformance is a dramati6ation of current de!ate ractices$ We reali6e that singing
'isney songs is going a !it too far) !ut it ma*es us consider the conse7uences of this tye of rhetoric$ We8ll
clarify$
Contention B1: 9eality is 12 and "hat is this:
The real is !eing relaced !y the hyerreal) a giant metahorical 'isney World) "here images relace
reality and !ecome eternal and infinitely reeating in the #irtual uni#erse) "here the real has !ecome a
sectacle) !ut instead of !eing outside loo*ing in) "e are the sectacle) constant articiants in a reality
sho" of #iolence$ Baudrillard /6
-audrillard 1234ean$ !rofessor of philosophy of culture and media criticism at the *uropean 5raduate School in Saas#ee$ Swit6erland$ /arch 7$ 89isneyworld Company8:
But the 'isney enterrise goes !eyond the imaginary$ 'isney) the recursor) the grand initiator of the imaginary as #irtual reality) is
no" in the rocess of caturing all the real "orld to integrate it into its synthetic uni#erse) in the form of a
#ast ;reality sho"; "here reality itself !ecomes a sectacle<#ient se donner en sectacle=) "here the real !ecomes a
theme ar*$The transfusion of the real is li*e a !lood transfusion) e>cet that here it is a transfusion of real !lood into the e>sanguine uni#erse of #irtuality$ After the
rostitution of the imaginary) here is no" the hallucination of the real in its ideal and simlified #ersion$ At
'isney World in 3rlando) they are e#en !uilding an identical relica of the (os Angeles 'isneyland) as a sort of historical attraction to the second degree) a simulacrum to the
second o"er$ It is the same thing that C?? did "ith the @ulf War: a rototyical e#ent "hich did not ta*e lace) !ecause it too* lace in real time) in C??4s instantaneous mode$
Today) 'isney could easily re#isit the @ulf War as a "orld"ide sho"$ The 9ed Army choirs ha#e already cele!rated Christmas at Auro 'isney$ A#erything is
ossi!le) and e#erything is recycla!le in the olymorhous uni#erse of #irtuality$ A#erything can !e !ought o#er$ There is no
reason "hy 'isney "ould not ta*e o#er the human genome) "hich) !y the "ay) is already !eing rese7uenced) to turn it into a genetic sho"$ In the end<au fond=) they
"ould cryogeni6e the entire lanet) 5ust li*e Walt 'isney himself "ho decided to !e cryogeni6ed in a nitrogen solution) "aiting for some
*ind of resurrection in the real "orld$ But there is no real "orld anymore) not e#en for Walt 'isney$ If one
day he "a*es u) he4ll no dou!t ha#e the !iggest surrise of his life$ Mean"hile) from the !ottom of his
nitrogen solution he continues to coloni6e the "orld B !oth the imaginary and the real B in the sectral
uni#erse of #irtual reality) inside "hich "e all ha#e !ecome e>tras <figurants=$ The difference is that "hen "e
ut on our digital suits) lug in our sensorial cators) or ress the *eys of our #irtual reality arcade) "e enter
li#e sectrality "hereas 'isney) the genial anticiator) has entered the #irtual reality of death$ The ?e"
World 3rder is in a 'isney mode$ But 'isney is not alone in this mode of canni!alistic attraction$ We sa" Benetton "ith his commercial camaigns) trying
to recuerate the human drama of the ne"s CAI'&) Bosnia) o#erty) aartheidD !y transfusing reality into a ?e" Mediatic Eiguration Ca lace "here suffering and commiseration
end in a mode of interacti#e resonanceD$ The #irtual ta*es o#er the real as it aears) and then relicates it "ithout any modification <le recrache tel 7uel=) in a retBaBorter CreadyB
toB"earD fashion$ If this oeration can !e so successful in creating a uni#ersal fascination "ith only a tint of moral disaro#al) it is !ecause reality itself) the "orld itself) "ith its
fren6y of cloning has already !een transformed into an interacti#e erformance) some *ind of (unaar* for ideologies) technologies)
"or*s) *no"ledge) death) and e#en destruction$All this is li*ely to !e cloned and resurrected in a 5u#enile museum of Imagination or a #irtual
museum of Information$ &imilarly) it is useless to *ee searching for comuter #iruses since "e are all caught in a #iral chain of net"or*s any"ay$Information itself
has !ecome #iralF erhas not se>ually transmissi!le yet) !ut much more o"erful through its numerical roagation$ And so it does not ta*e much "or* for 'isney to
scoo u reality) such as it is$ ;&ectacular Inc$); as @uy 'e!ord "ould say$ But "e are no longer in a society of sectacle) "hich itself has !ecome a sectacular concet$ It is no
longer the contagion of sectacle that alters reality) !ut rather the contagion of #irtuality that erases the sectacle$ 'isneyland still !elonged to the order of the sectacle and of
fol*lore) "ith its effects of entertainment <distraction= and distanciation <distance=$ 'isney World and its tentacular e>tension is a generali6ed metastasis) a cloning of the "orld and
of our mental uni#erse) not in the imaginary !ut in a #iral and #irtual mode$ We are no longer alienated and assi#e sectators !ut interacti#e e>tras <figurants interactifs=F "e
are the mee* lyohili6ed mem!ers of this huge ;reality sho"$;It is no longer a sectacular logic of
alienation !ut a sectral logic of disincarnationF no longer a fantastic logic of di#ersion) !ut a coruscular
logic of transfusion and transu!stantiation of all our cellsF an enterrise of radical deterrence of the "orld from the inside and no longer from
outside) similar to the 7uasiBnostalgic uni#erse of caitalistic reality today$ Being an e>tra <figurant= in #irtual reality is no longer !eing an actor or a sectator$ It is to !e out of the
scene <horsBscene=) to !e o!scene$ 'isney "ins at yet another le#el$ It is not only interested in erasing the real !y turning it into a threeBdimensional #irtual image "ith no deth) !ut
it also see*s to erase time !y synchroni6ing all the eriods) all the cultures) in a single tra#eling motion) !y 5u>taosing them in a single scenario$ Thus) it mar*s the !eginning of
real) unctual and unidimensional time) "hich is also "ithout deth$ ?o resent) no ast) no future) !ut an immediate synchronism of
all the laces and all the eriods in a single atemoral #irtuality$ (ase or collase of time: that4s roerly sea*ing "hat the fourth
dimension <la 7uatrieme dimension= is a!out$ It is the dimension of the #irtual) of real timeF a dimension "hich) far from adding to the others) erases them all$ And so it has !een
said that) in a century or in a millennium) gladiator mo#ies "ill !e "atched as if they "ere authentic 9oman mo#ies) dating !ac* to the era of the 9oman emire) as real
documentaries on Ancient 9omeF that in the .ohn Paul @etty Museum in Mali!u) a astiche of a Pomeian #illa) "ill !e confused) in an anachronistic manner) "ith a #illa of the
third century B$C$ Cincluding the ieces inside from 9em!randt) Era Angelico) e#erything confused in a single crush of timeDF that the cele!ration of the Erench 9e#olution in (os
Angeles in 1/G/ "ill retrosecti#ely !e confused "ith the real re#olutionary e#ent$ 'isney reali6es de facto such an atemoral utoia !y roducing all the e#ents) ast or future) on
simultaneous screens) and !y ine>ora!ly mi>ing all the se7uences as they "ould or "ill aear to a different ci#ili6ation than ours$ But it is already ours$ It is more and more
difficult for us to imagine the real) History) the deth of time) or threeBdimensional sace) 5ust as !efore it "as difficult) from our real "orld ersecti#e) to imagine a #irtual
uni#erse or the fourth dimension <la 7uatrieme dimension=$
Will Malson Baudrillard 1AC Page 1 of 6
Contention B2: 9eality is the ne" meme) to !e forgotten as time marches on
9elace the sectacle: our erformance has an intrinsic #alue H language "ill ne#er !e a reference to the
real$ Instead) it should !e used to further distance from the real) !ridging the ga !et"een "hat is real and
"hat can !e indi#idually accomlished$ The "orld e>ists in a state of the oosite) rather than in accetance
of this$ Baudrillard /I
-audrillard 1;34ean$ !rofessor of philosophy of culture and media criticism at the *uropean 5raduate School in Saas#ee$ Swit6erland$ April <1$ 8=adical Thought8:
3ur oint is not to defend radical thought$ Any idea that can !e defended is resumed guilty$ Any idea that does not sustain its o"n defense deser#es to erish$ But "e ha#e
to fight against charges of unreality) lac* of resonsi!ility) nihilism) and desair$ 9adical thought is ne#er deressing$ This
"ould !e a comlete misunderstanding$ A morali6ing and ideological criti7ue) o!sessed !y meaning and content) o!sessed
!y a olitical finality of discourse) ne#er ta*es into account "riting) the act of "riting) the oetic) ironic)
and allusi#e form of language) the lay "ith meaning$ This criti7ue does not see that the resolution of meaning is right here) in the form itself)
in the formal materiality of an e>ression$ As for meaning) it is al"ays unfortunate$ Analysis is !y its #ery definition unfortunate since it is
!orn out of a critical disillusion$ But language on the contrary is fortunate ChayD) e#en "hen it designates a "orld "ith no illusion) "ith no hoe$ This "ould
in fact !e here the #ery definition of radical thought: an intelligence "ithout hoe) !ut a fortunate and hay form$ Critics) al"ays !eing unfortunate CunhayD in their nature)
choose the realm of ideas as their !attle field$ They do not see that if discourse al"ays tends to roduce meaning) language and "riting on the contrary are al"ays a matter of
illusion$ (anguage and "riting are the li#ing illusion of meaning) the resolution of the misfortune of meaning
oerated through the good fortune of language$ This is the only olitical or transolitical act that a "riter
can accomlish$ A#eryone has ideas) e#en more than they need$ What matters is the oetic singularity of analysis$ 3nly this "it6) this sirituality of language) can 5ustify
"riting$ ?ot a misera!le critical o!5ecti#ity of ideas$ There "ill ne#er !e a solution to the contradiction of ideas) e>cet inside language itself) in the energy and fortune ChainessD
of language$ &o the loneliness and sadness in Ad"ard Hoer4s aintings are transfigured !y the timeless 7uality
of light) a light "hich comes from some lace else and gi#es to the "hole icture a totally nonBfigurati#e
meaning) an intensity "hich renders loneliness unreal$ Hoer says: ;I do not aint sadness or lonelinessF I
only see* to aint light on this "all$; In any case) it is !etter to ha#e a desairing analysis in a hay
language than an otimistic analysis in desairingly !oring and demorali6ingly lain language$ Which is too often
the case$ The formal !oredom that is secreted !y an idealist thought on #alues) or !y a goalBoriented thought on culture) is the secret sign of
desair for this thought B not desair "ith the "orld) !ut desair to"ard its o"n discourse$ This is "here the
real deressing thought emerges$ It emerges "ith those eole "ho only tal* a!out a transcendence or a
transformation of the "orld) "hile they are totally una!le to transfigure their o"n language$ 9adical thought is in no
"ay different from radical usage of language$ This thought is therefore alien to any resolution of the "orld "hich "ould ta*e the direction of an o!5ecti#e reality and of its
decihering$ 9adical thought does not deciher$ It anathemati6es and ;anagramati6es; concets and ideas) e>actly "hat oetic language does "ith "ords$ Through its re#ersi!le
chaining) it simultaneously gi#es an account of meaning and of its fundamental illusion$ (anguage gi#es an account of the #ery illusion of language as a definite stratagem and
through that notes the illusion of the "orld as an infinite tra) as a seduction of the mind) as a stealing a"ay of all mental caacities$ While !eing a transorter of meaning) language
is at the same time a suraBconductor of illusion and of the a!sence of meaning$ (anguage is only signification4s unintentional accomlice$ By its #ery force) it calls for the siritual
imagination of sounds and rhythms) for the disersion of meaning in the e#ent of language) similar to the role of the muscles in dance) similar to the role of reroduction in erotic
games$ &uch a assion for the artificial) a assion for illusion) is the same thing as the seducti#e 5oy
C5ouissanceD to undo a too erfect constellation of meaning$ It is also a 5oy C5ouissanceD to render transarent
the imosture of the "orld) that is to say the enigmatic function of the "orld) and its mystification "hich
suosedly is its secret$ 'oing this "hile erhas rendering its imosture transarent: decei#ing rather than
#alidating meaning$ This assion ;"ins; in the free and siritual usage of language) in the siritual game of "riting$ And it only disaears "hen language is used for
a limited finality) its most common usage erhas) that of communication$ ?o matter "hat) if language "ants to ;sea* the language; of illusion) it must !ecome a seduction$ As for
;sea*ing the language; of the real) it "ould not *no" ho" to do it Croerly sea*ingD !ecause language is ne#er real$ Whene#er it aears to !e a!le to designate things) it
actually does so !y follo"ing unreal) ellitic) and ironic aths$ 3!5ecti#ity and truth are metahoric in language$ Too !ad for the aodicticians or the aodidacticiansJ This is ho"
language is) e#en unconsciously) the carrier of radical thought) !ecause it al"ays starts from itself) as a trait d4esrit #isBaB#is the "orld) as an ellise and a source of leasure$ A#en
the confusion of languages in the To"er of Ba!el) a o"erful mechanism of illusion for the human race) a source of nonBcommunication and an end to the ossi!ility of a uni#ersal
language) "ill ha#e aeared) finally) not as a di#ine unishment !ut as a gift from @od$ Cihering) not decihering$ 3erating illusions$ Being illusion to !e e#ent$ Turning into an
enigma "hat is clear$ Ma*ing unintelligi!le "hat is far too intelligi!le$ 9endering unreada!le the e#ent itself$ Wor*ing all the e#ents to ma*e them unintelligi!le$ Accentuating the
fa*e transarency of the "orld to sread a terroristic confusion) to sread the germs or #iruses of a radical illusion) that is to say oerating a radical disillusion of the real$ A #iral
and deleterious thought) "hich corruts meaning) and is the accomlice of an erotic ercetion of reality4s trou!le$ Arasing in oneself any remaining trace of the intellectual lot$
&tealing the ;reality file; to erase its conclusions$ But) in fact) it is reality itself "hich foments its o"n contradiction) its o"n denial) its o"n loss through our lac* of reality$ Hence)
the internal feeling that all this affair B the "orld) thought) and language B has emerged from some lace else and could
disaear as if !y magic$ The "orld does not see* to ha#e more e>istence) nor does it see* to ersist in its
e>istence$ 3n the contrary) it is loo*ing for the most siritual "ay to escae reality$ Through thought) the
"orld is loo*ing for "hat could lead to its o"n loss$ The a!solute rule) that of sym!olic e>change) is to
return "hat you recei#ed$ ?e#er less) !ut al"ays more$ The a!solute rule of thought is to return the "orld
as "e recei#ed it: unintelligi!le$ And if it is ossi!le) to return it a little !it more unintelligi!le$ A little !it
more enigmatic$
Baudrillard 1AC Page I of 6
Contention B%: 9elace the hyerreal "ith the ne" reality$ 9e5ect re5ect 9A.ACT the current reality you
reside in
Consumerism and economic gro"th are #ie"ed as inherently good$ 9amant consumerism8s logical end is
sho"ing through: #ie"ing the #ery Aarth "e reside uon as disosa!le$ BA' THI?@&$ Mon!iot 1-
5eorge /onbiot$ After this 2>year #eeding #ren6y$ *arth &tself has -ecome 9isposable$ !ublished by The 5uardian?@A$ B C><> 5uardian 0ews and /edia
.imited$ 4anuary ;$ C><>$ httpD??wwwEcommondreamsEorg?"iew?C><>?><?>;F GH*5H
Who said this: ;All the e#idence sho"s that !eyond the sort of standard of li#ing "hich Britain has no" achie#ed) e>tra gro"th does not automatically translate into human "elfare
and hainess$; Was it aD the !oss of @reeneace) !D the director of the ?e" Aconomics Eoundation) or cD an anarchist lanning the ne>t climate cam: ?one of the a!o#e: dD the
former head of the Confederation of British Industry) "ho currently runs the Einancial &er#ices Authority$ In an inter#ie" !roadcast last Eriday) (ord Turner !rought the consumer
society4s most su!#ersi#e o!ser#ation into the mainstream$ In our hearts most of us *no" it is true) !ut "e li#e as if it "ere not$
Progress is measured !y the seed at "hich "e destroy the conditions that sustain life$ @o#ernments are
deemed to succeed or fail !y ho" "ell they ma*e money go round) regardless of "hether it ser#es any useful urose$ They
regard it as a sacred duty to encourage the country4s most re#olting sectacle: the annual feeding fren6y in
"hich shoers 7ueue all night) then stamede into the shos) el!o") tramle and sometimes fight to !e the
first to carry off some designer 5un* "hich "ill go into landfill !efore the sales ne>t year$ The madder the orgy) the
greater the triumh of economic management$ As the @uardian re#ealed today) the British go#ernment is no" slit o#er roduct lacement in tele#ision rogrammes: if it
imlements the olicy roosed !y Ben Bradsha") the culture secretary) lots "ill re#ol#e around chocolates and cheese!urgers) and ad#ertisements "ill !e imossi!le to filter)
erhas e#en to detect$ Bradsha" must *no" that this indoctrination "on4t ma*e us haier) "iser) greener or leanerF !ut it "ill ma*e the tele#ision comanies K11-m a year$
Though "e *no" they aren4t the same) "e can4t hel conflating gro"th and "ell!eing$ (ast "ee*) for
instance) the @uardian carried the headline ;LM standard of li#ing dros !elo" 2--I le#el;$ But the story
had nothing to do "ith our standard of li#ing$ Instead it reorted that er caita gross domestic roduct is
lo"er than it "as in 2--I$ @'P is a measure of economic acti#ity) not standard of li#ing$ But the terms are
confused so often that 5ournalists no" treat them as synonyms$ The lo" retail sales of re#ious months
"ere recently descri!ed !y this aer as ;!lea*; and ;gloomy;$ High sales are al"ays ;good ne"s;) lo"
sales are al"ays ;!ad ne"s;) e#en if the roduct on offer is farmyard orn$ I !elie#e it4s time that the @uardian challenged this !iased reorting$ Those "ho still
"ish to conflate "elfare and @'P argue that high consumtion !y the "ealthy imro#es the lot of the "orld4s oor$ Perhas) !ut it4s a #ery clumsy and inefficient instrument$ After
some 6- years of this feast) G-- million eole remain ermanently hungry$ Eull emloyment is a less li*ely rosect than it "as !efore the fren6y !egan$ In a ne" aer
u!lished in Philosohical Transactions of the 9oyal &ociety) &ir Partha 'asguta ma*es the oint that the
ro!lem "ith gross domestic roduct is the gross !it$ There are no deductions in#ol#ed: all economic
acti#ity is accounted as if it "ere of ositi#e #alue$ &ocial harm is added to) not su!tracted from) social
good$ A train crash "hich generates K1!n "orth of trac* reairs) medical !ills and funeral costs is deemed
!y this measure to !e as !eneficial as an uninterruted ser#ice "hich generates K1!n in tic*et sales$ Most
imortant) no deduction is made to account for the dereciation of natural caital: the o#eruse or degradation of soil) "ater) forests) fisheries and the atmoshere$ 'asguta sho"s
that the total "ealth of a nation can decline e#en as its @'P is gro"ing$ In Pa*istan) for instance) his rough figures suggest that "hile @'P er caita gre" !y an a#erage of 2$2N a
year !et"een 1/2- and 2---) total "ealth declined !y 1$1N$ Ama6ingly) there are still no official figures that see* to sho" trends in the actual "ealth of nations$ Oou can say all
this "ithout fear of unishment or ersecution$ But in its ractical effects) consumerism is a totalitarian system: it ermeates
e#ery asect of our li#es$ A#en our dissent from the system is ac*aged u and sold to us in the form of
antiBconsumtion consumtion) li*e the ;I4m not a lastic !ag;) "hich "as suosed to relace disosa!le
carriers !ut "as mostly used once or t"ice !efore it fell out of fashion) or li*e the lucrati#e ne" !oo*s on ho" to li#e "ithout
money$ @eorge 3r"ell and Aldous Hu>ley roosed different totalitarianisms: one sustained !y fear) the other in art !y greed$ Hu>ley4s nightmare has come closer to realisation$
In the nurseries of the Bra#e ?e" World) ;the #oices "ere adating future demand to future industrial suly$ 4I do lo#e flying)4 they "hisered) 4I do lo#e flying) I do
lo#e ha#ing ne" clothes $$$ old clothes are !eastly $$$ We al"ays thro" a"ay old clothes$ Anding is !etter than mending) ending is !etter than mending4;$ Lnderconsumtion "as
considered ;ositi#ely a crime against society;$ But there "as no need to unish it$ At first the authorities machineBgunned the &imle (ifers "ho tried to ot out) !ut that didn4t
"or*$ Instead they used ;the slo"er !ut infinitely surer methods; of conditioning: immersing eole in ad#ertising slogans from childhood$ A totalitarianism dri#en !y greed
e#entually !ecomes selfBenforced$ (et me gi#e you an e>amle of ho" far this selfBenforcement has rogressed$ In a recent comment thread) a oster
e>ressed an idea that I ha#e no" heard a fe" times$ ;We need to get off this tiny little "orld and out into the "ider uni#erse
$$$ if it ta*es the resources of the lanet to get us out there) so !e it$ Ho"e#er "e use them) ho"e#er "e utilise the energy of the sun and
the mineral "ealth of this "orld and the others of our lanetary system) either "e do use them to e>and and e>lore other "orlds) and
!ecome something greater than a mudBgru!!ing semiBsentient animal) or "e die as a secies$; This is the consumer society ta*en to its
logical e>treme: the Aarth itself !ecomes disosa!le$ This idea aears to !e more acceta!le in some circles than any restraint on ointless
sending$ That "e might ho) li*e the aliens in the film Indeendence 'ay) from one lanet to another) consuming their resources then mo#ing on) is considered !y
these eole a more realistic and desira!le rosect than changing the "ay in "hich "e measure "ealth$
Will Malson Baudrillard 1AC Page 6 of 6
Thus the frame"or*:
We reali6e debate is a game designed to foster educationE Howe"er$ itIs more important to consider how
weIre playing the game than who is winning within it J imaginary impacts donIt matter until there is a
'ustification for their rhetoricE ThatIs best for debate becauseD
Eirst) it8s realistic$
Eiat doesn8t e>istF no lan "ill e#er !e assed at the end of the round regardless of "hich "ay you #ote$
&econd) traditional de!ate desensiti6es us to the suffering of othersF rather than ro#ing a frame"or* for
acti#ism) this seculati#e mindset of +fiat, only re"ards oression and suffering of others$ Mitchell /G
5ordon =E /itchell 3!rofessor of Communications K @ni"E of !ittsburgE An 09T top speaker now coaches debate at the @ni"ersity of !ittsburgh:$ !*9A5%5&CA.
!%SS&-&.&T&*S #%= A=5@/*0TAT&L* A5*0C, &0 ACA9*/&C 9*-AT*$ !age M$ Argumentation N Ad"ocacy$ LolE M; &ssue C$ !age 7M$ <11O GH*5H
The sense of detachment associated "ith the sectator osture is highlighted during eisodes of alienation
in "hich de!aters cheer ne"s of human suffering or misfortune$ Instead of focusing on the #isceral negati#e
resonses to ne"s accounts of human death and misery) de!aters o#ercome "ith the cometiti#e 6eal of contest round cometition
sho" a tendency to concentrate on the meanings that such e#idence might hold for the strength of their
academic de!ate arguments$ Eor e>amle) ne"s reorts of mass star#ation might tidy u the ;uni7ueness of
a disad#antage; or !olster the ;inherency of an affirmati#e case; Cin the technical arlance of de!ateBsea*D$ Murchland categori6es
culti#ation of this ;sectator; mentality as one of the most olitically de!ilitating failures of contemorary education: ;Aducational institutions ha#e failed e#en more grie#ously to
ro#ide the *ind of ci#ic forums "e need$ In fact) one could easily conclude that the rincile uroses of our schools is to deri#e successor generations of their ci#ic #oice) to
turn them into mute and uncomrehending sectators in the drama of olitical life; C1//1) $ GD$