Let the games begin. Again.

The new season is upon us.

First, let us go back to June of 2012, where a handsome young gruesome old coach wrote of the possible selections:

Resolved: In a democracy, voting ought to be compulsory.

Voting is compulsory in Australia, for example, and much of South America. The rez broaches the basic areas of civic responsibility, social contract, etc., etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. Plus, it’s only 8 words. In other words, absolutely perfect, especially for Sept-Oct or NatNats.

Rating: 10 (5 for Jan-Feb).

I am, in other words, a happy camper. I especially like this for working with my sophomore LDer, as I think it’s the perfect way to get back into the groove for the season, anchored in such basic LD material.

Second, get this:

In addition, at its spring meeting, the Board of Directors voted unaminously to designate a resolution for NOVICE Lincoln-Douglas Debate to be used in the first two months of a novice season—Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified.
The Board considered this approach after studying the positive benefits from states that have already adopted this practice. Establishing a resolution for the first two months of the novice season enables the League to create educational materials that can be updated and improved year-to-year, and allow educators to have a consistent topic geared toward novices that will enhance and streamline their novice LD curriculum, particularly after the first year of implementation.

[Insert your favorite internet meme here to assess my reaction to this. By the way, our educational materials already exist and are free to all. Just sayin'.]

Third, there’s PF:

Resolved: Unilateral military force by the United States is justified to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Well, it’s certainly better than the alternative, which was nothing but your dubious pile of facts versus my pile of dubious facts. On the down side, though, there is an awfully large predisposition to assume that the con is inherently correct, since international law, the philosophy of war, and whatever it is that we call personal morality all start with that presumption. But as I’ve already told my Sailors, everybody saying something is wrong only means that everyone says that it is wrong. It’s a livable resolution, and not so much of a gimme on a given side as, say, going to college is better than not going to college. I would have preferred that we allow considered non-unilateral force, at least. Oh, well. It’s only a month and a half before the next rez is released.