Challenge: Argue opposing viewpoint 2018

WhatFor

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 9:52 pm

Very wealthy people shouldn't have to pay taxes. They're already contributing a lot of money to the country by spending more, which puts more money into circulation in the country. In addition to buying more goods than the average middle class or poor person, they also tend to be job creators, whether they own businesses with multiple employees or hire personal assistants. Also, lowering the tax rate to zero for the wealthy will encourage more wealthy people to move to the country, generating more income overall.

People who struggle financially tend not to recognize how much wealthy people give to their communities just by virtue of their spending there. Every time they remodel their home, every new car they buy, every new outfit they buy is money put into the working people of that community. More money than the average person is putting in.

But poorer people subconsciously begrudge the wealthy person their ability to live life without financial struggle. Even though objectively the wealthier person is contributing more financially to the community, the poorer person won't appreciate the value until that wealthy person sufficiently reaches that level of struggle. This isn't logical or fair.
It's not the wealthy person's fault that they were born wealthy. Their contributions should be recognized the same as anyone else's. One way to recognize their contributions would be to eliminate taxes for the wealthy.

gamanit

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 10:13 pm

Polygamy is far too difficult to regulate from a legal aspect and therefore should not be legalized. Although some people take advantage of government programs by being "single mothers" on the books it is very rare as hardly anyone is even interested in being in a polygamous relationship. Since spouses have no estate taxes wealthy people would "marry" many people just to be sure the government doesn't get a cut of their money. It would also be an immigration nightmare especially since Islam allows for multiple wives (who can then get divorced and bring in more men).

(I chose an obscure topic since my views are generally not fully to one side- personal opinion here is that these are all valid concerns that the government should address to ensure they aren't abused but since gay marriage was legalized then the government should also be making accomodations for Mormons)

4pom

Tue, Nov 27 2018, 10:42 pm

We are so fortunate to be living in a time of such scientific advancement. Scientific studies are the barometer and the evidence-based methods on which all decisions should be made. Whether this be in the realm of medicine / therapies/ social changes/ educational reform and approach, or even sociology and ideas.
The whole Eastern approach and its offshoots which are in vogue have no statistics or studies to support them and are baseless.
Bach flowers / homeopathy have been proven to be nothing more than the placebo effect. Unless I am given a scientific study to prove the veracity of something I am highly skeptical and even believe its a bunch of money-making baloney.
The idea that healing takes time with these Alternative methods of mind/body is just trickery. Without it and with time you would have healed too.
And why stay with medical ideas of the past. We are in the 21st century and are so fortunate to have made such amazing strides in medicine - it’s ridiculous to go back to use..... herbs. Go forwards not backwards.
Science is the absolute barometer of effectiveness.

ora_43

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 1:39 am

Trump is a genius, and good for America

A lot of people like to pretend that Trump is a moron who just happened to somehow stumble into the White House. Come on. Becoming President is a monumental task, it's something only like 0.000001% of the population ever manages to do. Trump started off as a punchline, and as one of 17 major republican candidates. And he won.

That's not just dumb luck. The man is a media genius.

And is it really realistic to suggest that he's a genius when it comes to manipulating public opinion, but a cretin when it comes to everything else? At a minimum, he has the raw brainpower to understand complex situations, and an excellent grasp of group psychology. He also has the ability to think outside the box, to look at things you "just can't do" and then decide to do them anyway, if he thinks it will work. And he's usually right.

These are qualities that have the potential to make Trump a great leader on the international stage. He won't be fenced in by past decisions. He's not afraid to rock the boat. And he understands not only what he can and can't do, but how he has to spin it to get public support.

Let's face it, people are mostly calling him "stupid" because they don't like the idea that someone can be smart and still disagree with them so completely.

Some people think that Trump's decisions have mostly been terrible. But even they have to admit that at least now we're talking about those decisions.

"Trump is an awful man who put children in cages and used riot control measures against innocent migrants" - say the same people who didn't even notice when Obama did those same things.

"He's doing nothing to stop the horrors in Yemen" - say the people who ignored Syria and Iraq.

"Racism and gun violence are on the rise, and it's his fault" - racism has been on the rise for a while now.

If nothing else, Trump has us really thinking about big issues and about what America should be. That's a good thing.

marina

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 1:48 am

amother wrote:

Why the Mueller investigation is a threat to America.

Trump was legitimately elected via the electoral college which is the only system permitted by our constitution. The Mueller investigation seeks to discredit a choice made by the people via the constitution. Casting aspersions on a democratically-elected leader by way of a secret investigation sets a dangerous precedent for future candidates and threatens our democracy. What's the point of electing a leader if our choice can be jeopardized through this non-transparent, back channel type of procedure? Why should anyone ever vote again? Moreover, why should the people trust in the impartiality of the law when criminal proceedings can be brought and supported by partisan politicians who only have their own best interests at heart? Using the judiciary to neutralize an opponent discredits the rule of law as we know it and this threatens not only our democracy but also our allegiance to the very laws upon which our society hinges.

marina

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 1:58 am

sushilover wrote:

Affirmative action hurts minorities

Minorities want nothing more than to be judged for their talents, knowledge, and experience, just like everyone else. Affirmative action disregards this basic need because it encourages consideration of skin color or other protected status. Women, for example, want to get a promotion because of their skill set, not to help an employer meet some criteria about how many females should be in upper management. African Americans and Latino individuals want to be accepted to Ivy League universities for their test scores and grades and essay writing skills, not to help the university meet some sort of quota set by people who don't know the individual applicant and don't really care about him or her.

Affirmative action not only allows peers and coworkers to cast aspersions on a minority colleague's promotion or academic accolades, it also allows people to continue thinking of minorities as victims. This does nothing to help future generations feel or act empowered and instead, simply serves to cement the woe-is-me mentality among some minorities and breed resentment among some members of the majority.

Last edited by marina on Wed, Nov 28 2018, 2:25 am; edited 2 times in total

marina

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 2:09 am

sushilover wrote:

Abortion should be illegal in many circumstances

No matter how you look at it, we can all agree that abortion ends a potential life. Because life is so precious, potential life is precious as well and it should not be able to be discarded at will. Accordingly, society must create rules strictly regulating when such a potential life can be ended and this should be allowed only in the rarest of circumstances, when the mother's life is at stake, for example.

Allowing abortions to be as legal as they are now creates a disrespect for potential life that may spill over into other areas of behavior and conduct. For some people, allowing abortions has become part of the cult of the self, which places women's individuality and personal satisfaction above all else. Abortion can even be seen as a "self-care" activity where no value at all is accorded to this potential life. This is horrifying and should be limited as much as possible by law. Women and men both must realize that the value of a potential life exceeds their personal discomfort or challenging financial problems or a rocky relationship, none of which are good enough reasons to end this potential life.

As a society we routinely legislate and prohibit any actions which we find immoral or harmful overall. Abortion should be no different.

Last edited by marina on Wed, Nov 28 2018, 2:23 am; edited 2 times in total

JoyInTheMorning

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 3:31 am

Parents shouldn't feel pressured to give their children a Jewish day school education. The cost of tuition is just too high. If you are yeshivish, tuition may just be $10K a year, but people tend to have lots of children; if you are MO in NYC, tuition is $15-$25K a year, which adds up fast; and if you are MO and out of NYC, tuition can rise up to $35K or more a year. No one except for one percenters can afford that, and even one percenters often can't afford that.

So what happens as a consequence of the high cost of tuition? Modern Orthodox families are likely to limit the size of their families. Yeshivish families tend to rely on the largesse of their community's benefactors, or worse, to get help from the government in order to house and feed their families because tuition takes such a large chunk of their budget. Neither is good for society.

You might think that the problem is that Jewish day schools are run inefficiently. To some extent this is true. There are too many administrators who get paid exorbitant salaries. But overall, perhaps due to downward pressure on teachers' salaries, which is a huge problem in itself, a Jewish day school education costs about the same as a public school education, per child. (The difference, of course, is that the public school child's education is paid for by the state.) And since Jewish day schools teach a dual program, that means that they are actually quite efficient. So there is less room to cut out fat than one might think.

Jewish day schools increased in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, in large measure because it was clear that so many Jewish kids who went to public school and only had Talmud Torah supplementation afterwards, left religious Judaism. But if you look at Pew Research studies, it's clear that many religious kids still leave the fold, even after an expensive day school education. Moreover, kids today graduate after twelve years with little to show for it. How many girls do you know who have graduated from high school and can barely read a Rashi if they haven't already learned it? How many boys can't understand a daf of Gemara unless they have Schottenstein open beside them? We're told that the answer is to send them to another year of study, this time in Israel. But it seems to me that if twelve years haven't done the trick, a thirteenth year, especially one spent partly hiking through Israel, isn't going to do the trick either. Just get them a set of Schottenstein, a translation of Rashi, an ArtScroll siddur -- just get them all of ArtScroll -- and done!

--------------------------
What I really believe:

I'm a great proponent of Jewish day schools. Even if (as in MO or community day schools), the Judaics education isn't as good as it should be, there are some important advantages to going to day school that can't be replicated:
(1) Davening b'tzibbur every day
(2) Having a community of Jewish friends
(3) Not being tempted to eat non-kosher food
(4) Being aware of the Jewish calendar at all times
(5) Getting off for chagim, so there's no temptation to be mechallel yom tov
(6) Some Jewish education is better than none.

I have no solution to the tuition crisis, though! The only financially feasible solution, to have the state support Jewish schools, as is done in many European countries, is a non-starter due to the separation of church and state.

ora_43

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 6:05 am

Since marina passed on this one, I'm going to do

Twilight is the literary masterpiece of our generation

What is writing about, really? What makes writing “good”?

I would argue that writing is about communication. A good writer is one who effectively gets their point across, who connects to their readers, and who ultimately leaves them happier for having read.

Twilight accomplished all of the above on a phenomenal scale. Stephanie Meyer’s series captivated hundreds of millions of people. She was the bestselling author in America two years running. Her language might not be “literary,” but it’s clear and compelling.

Should we say it doesn’t have literary merit just because it’s about sparkling vampires? If 100,000,000 people love a story, how can someone come along and claim a much less popular story is “better” based on… what, exactly? It being more serious (ie, less fun)? It having more complex language or more unusual metaphors (ie, harder to read)? It leaving people disturbed or conflicted, rather than happy?

Twilight is a literary masterpiece because readers love it. Nothing more or less.

(Note, too, that the second runner-up for Literary Masterpiece of Our Generation - 50 shades of Grey - was actually inspired by Twilight. Truly, Twilight is the literary gift that won't stop giving.)

And if you think about it, Twilight is a story with a deep message. Sure, it looks like a nitwit teenage girl falling in love with a nitwit vampire for no particular reason. But let’s look deeper.

Who is Edward? A sparkly vampire? That, yes – but he’s also a stand-in for the concept of masculinity, in both the positive sense and the negative. He’s rich, powerful, physically formidable, and capable of extreme violence.

Who is Bella? A girl sadly lacking personality, intelligence or interests? That, yes – but she’s also a stand-in for the concept of femininity.

The books go out of their way to mention how un-special Bella is when it comes to nearly everything – looks, academics, friendships, the ability to move without tripping… But there’s one thing about her that’s very special. She’s compassionate. She makes tremendous sacrifices over and over throughout the series – for her parents, for her friends, for the sparkly undead beast that she loves, for her baby. She is literally willing to give her life for others.

The series tells the story of Bella falling in love with Edward – but underneath that is the story of femininity and compassion gradually winning out over masculinity and violence. By the end, Edward is madly in love with Bella. His raw physical strength and potential for violence is now hers to command. The simple girl who just wants everyone she loves to be OK is ultimately the strongest of all.

The series ends with Bella preventing bloodshed by using her special vampire powers to protect those she loves. A bizarrely anti-climactic ending if you’re reading Twilight as a simple love story. A brilliant statement on the natural connection between femininity, nurturing, and pacifism, if you look beneath the surface.

Twilight isn’t just a love story. It’s a story about the power of femininity, and the power of compassion – something crucial in our generation, which is sadly lacking respect for both.

Mommyg8

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 10:27 am

pause wrote:

Frum Jews should not have internet access at home or on their phone. There is all kinds of dirt, garbage, apikorsus, and more, and as a frum Yid, you should not be exposing yourself to all of that. Even with a filter, bad things still come up because a filter isn't fool-proof. Whatever things you do on the internet, you can do without it like we've been doing all the years before its advent. Having internet access is a huge time waster. We spend time with a screen instead of with our kids/spouse/friends.

........

Pause, this was brilliant! What a pity I don't know you IRL!

Those were the exact thoughts that were going through my own mind the past few days - how'd you guess?

daagahminayin

Wed, Nov 28 2018, 11:18 am

It is ethical for a single parent or same relations couple to have a child through sperm/egg donation.

When people go are prepared to take on such a massive commitment of time, energy and money, it means they seriously want a child and have the capacity to raise one. They presumably have a lot of love to give.

It’s true that a child born through this intervention will be lacking a parental figure of one gender, but the effects of this can be mitigated by providing the child with strong father/mother role models in his/her life.

Medical background of the missing mother or father can be recorded and provided to the child when requested, so they will not be at a disadvantage in terms of knowing what hereditary conditions they may be suspect to.

Nowadays there is much less stigma attached to single parents or same relations parents than in previous times, so it appears entirely possible that the child will not be badly affected socially.

Many studies suggest that children raised in same relations homes do just as well academically and socially than children raised with two parents of opposite genders.

While statistically children of single parents are at a slight disadvantage academically and socially, this does not take into account single parents who actively choose to raise a child alone and have the means to do so, since most single parents are in that position not by choice, and endure other hardships such as financial and emotional stress from a separation or divorce that can badly affect the child.

Even if, regarding a child created and raised in such a scenario, there is still a measure of emotional pain he or she must suffer from the lack of a father or mother, the gift of life that they have received ultimately outweighs this pain and most of these children would not wish they had not been born.