In which we pooh-pooh the hoo-ha, or, what was the Big Question again?

Has anyone else noticed this whole Big Questions thing? I mean, there was all kinds of hoo-ha when Ted Turner/Controversy/PF was introduced, and while the hoo-ha was pooh-poohed by the existing debate community, much as LD was pooh-poohed by the existing debate community a couple of decades earlier, it caught on quickly and has in many regions taken over. For instance, you can’t swing a cat in Massachusetts without hitting a PF team, much to the dismay of Massachusetts debate teams, not to mention Massachusetts cats. (Of course, you, dear member of the VCA, know well that the cat in the cliché is the cat o’ nine tails, the swinging of which is way more dangerous than the swinging of Rum Tum Tugger.) Then Worlds reared is cosmopolitan little head. I have no direct experience of the event, but people who do speak highly of it, especially as a debate medium in the classroom. The NSDA is all over it, and people are always proclaiming its virtues on Facebook, and the NDCA has even added it to its annual tournament. Frankly, with three debate events already bouncing around, a fourth seems like one too many, if only from the perspective of a) running tournaments, and b) coaching teams. Most schools do not participate in policy, LD and PF simultaneously; it’s easy to imagine them now also not participating in policy, LD, PF and Worlds simultaneously. This is not a knock against Worlds, simply a presumption that four is at least one too many, since I’m pretty sure that, in the present world, three is already one too many.

And then all of sudden, the Big Question rabbit was pulled out of the hat. It’s supported by the John Templeton Foundation, which is, indeed, dedicated to studying the big questions of “human purpose and ultimate reality.” How ontological of them. The debates comprise equal times for both sides’ speeches, and a recommendation that rounds be judged by members of the general community. (Shades of Ted Turner!!!) Anyhow, this year’s annual topic is Resolved: Science leaves no room for free will. Before you say, “Say What?” let me provide you with the list of potential topics for next year:

·      WTF?

·      SRSLY?

·      Should I stay or should I go?

·      Who’s on first?

·      Do you want fries with that?

·      Are we there yet?

I mean, there’s big questions and there’s Big Questions. Right? (That’s a big, not a Big, question. “Am I right?” is a bigger question. “Am I right or am I right?” is a Big Question.) I don’t mean to make fun of anything the NSDA does, but, well, WTF, SRSLY? We need yet another debate format like we need [fill in your own humorous metaphor here—I’ve done my work for the day.]