Good Debate Essay Topics

Marijuana: The Great Debate Essay

Super Grass, Ace, Greta, Ganja, Weed, Mary Jane, Dope, and the Herb, are just a few of the modern terms that today's users call the drug that is marijuana. Research shows that in recent years the use of this drug has been on the rise, especially among teenagers. Bridget M. Kuehn, MSJ (2011) stated in her article, "As marijuana use for medical or recreational purposes is debated at state and municipal levels across the country, use of the drugs among teens continues to climb"(p. 242). In a survey done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 45,000 eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students showed an increase in the use of Marijuana in comparison to years passed. From 5.2% of twelfth graders, 2.8% of tenth graders, and 1.0% of 8th graders...show more content...

Although marijuana use was decreasing in 1977, recent studies show differently today. According to an Article written Bridget M. Kuehn (2013), the opposite results are occurring with media's positive portrayal of marijuana's benefits ―do to debate on its medical uses. Marijuana use is now on the rise, with The National Institute on Drug Abuse reporting a steady claim since 2006 (p.429). Kuehn (2013) Writes, "20.6% of twelfth graders view[...] occasional use as harmful and only 44.1% see[...] regular use as harmful [the] ... lowest level of marijuana harm perception among High School seniors since 1979" (p.429). What is the cause of this change in attitude? Some people feel that it is the media to blame. For example, as states debate legalization, it brings positive media attention to marijuana use. According to Guy J. Golan (2010) of the Newspaper Research Journal, California's big decision to be the first state to legalize marijuana in 1996 was a huge start. Other states have since followed in that same direction, and in result, recent media attention and debate have been focused on the benefits of marijuana rather than its harmful effects and may have contributed to this rise in use (p.305). In his article, Golan (2010) comments specifically, "Indeed, coverage of medical marijuana has been linked to real life consequences regarding drug use" (p. 305). In support of this, Kristen Gwynne

Get more content

Casey Green1 09/13/11 SPC 100 Section 14 The Great Debaters This film focuses on being a confident and decisive person in life, through passionate and informed topics. Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners.В№ After watching this film it does strike a cord of wanting to be able to reach out to others and share my own opinions in a strong, confident manner. To inspire others on something I may be passionate about in life, to share a different aspect of life that others have not lived. I can't say exactly how much this film has impacted my views on public speaking although the film itself...show more content...

I hope to control my anxiety while speaking in front of a group, since there might be a situation in my field that requires me to inform others of daily logs or protocols. It would be fulfilling to get others passionate about a subject that I favor and means a lot to me, as well as presentations are an expected process in future classes and need to be mastered. I think most people can identify with this movie, the fear of speaking out to others to convince them of your point. The fear of trying to prove a point to others that may have more knowledge on the subject or be able to refute it better. In reference to the movie it was about defending a personal honor, having the right to speak out and be equal with others. Debating requires excellent mastery of vocabulary, logic, and nerves. In a debate, you need to be poised and confident in order to get your point across effectively. Just like a regular speech. There are many speeches that have lifted hearts in dark times, gave hope in despair, inspired brave feats, gave courage to the weary, honored the dead, and changed the course of history. Without inspiring, passionate public speeches many people may not have had the fortitude to press on. In the eleven–year period between 1957 and 1968, Martin Luther King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty–five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, Get more content

The Great Debate : Essentialism Vs. Dominance

Beep, Beep look out there's a woman on the road. Often time's women are stereotyped as a bad driver. In the article "The Great Debate: Essentialism vs. Dominance," Courtney Stoker argues that there is a difference in communication between men and women through two theories. The Essentialism theory is the thought that men and women communicate differently due to their natural instincts as the Dominance theory imposes that the difference in communication is due to men's perceived dominance (Stoker 676). As Stoker compares these theories she makes it clear that neither had substantial evidence in explaining the differences of gender communication. As Stoker stated, "But once again, I do not feel as if there is enough evidence to consciously declare one theory correct" (679). Stoker suggests the two main theories about why men and women communicate differently are flawed. Stoker is correct that these two theories do not explain every difference of men and women as they demonstrate behaviors in driving that do not specifically fall into these theories. First of all men and women drive differently because they show different amounts of aggression. Aggressive drivers are best known for putting someone else in danger or harm's way while driving. This type of behavior is found more in men than women while driving. For example, "When it comes to aggressive driving, however, the majority (54 percent) of drivers cite men as the most likely culprits of aggressive driving. Compared

The philosophical debate begins as Socrates states that a true philosopher "has reason to be of good cheer when he is about to die", although suicide is not acceptable. Cebes is confused by what seems to be a contradiction because for those who would consider death a blessing, cannot take their own lives, but must wait for their lives to be taken from them. Socrates explains that the "gods are our guardians, and that we are a possession of theirs", and so have no right to harm ourselves. True philosophers spend their entire lives preparing for death and dying, so it would be inappropriate if they were to be sad when the moment of death finally arrived. "I am afraid that other people do not realize that the one aim of those who practice...show more content...

As Socrates explains it, death is nothing more than the separation of the soul from the body. "Dead is the attainment of this separation when the soul exists in herself, and is parted from the body and the body is parted from the soul". People would exchange pleasures for pleasures and pains for pains. Socrates would exchange all these things for wisdom, the only thing of true value. This pursuit of wisdom will cleanse the philosopher of all the impurities of bodily life and its infatuations, preparing him for an exalted afterlife among the gods.

When Plato is discussing the soul, I receive the image of the soul being imprisoned by the body. Thus, death is a kind of liberation from this prison. However if the gods are such good masters, why have they imprisoned us within these imperfect bodies, torturing and restricting the freedom of our souls in the first place? In addition, Socrates advocates learning with only the mind, which implies that you must learn without the body or senses. Does Plato truly mean that we can and should learn without the senses? It would be very difficult to acquire skills vital to knowledge if we could make no use of our senses.

Plato then goes on to speak about the sensibles and the form of properties. Plato is trying to show that the sensibles are not the same things as the Forms. An example of the sensibles would be things

Get more content

Thank you Madam Speaker. A very good morning I would like to wish to the honourable adjudicators, precise timekeepers, fellow members of the government, members of the opposition and members of the floor. We are gathered here today to debate on a very important motion that is THBT physically challenged people should not be seperated in schools. And, we, the government strongly back this motion. To address this motion, please allow me to start off by specifying my role and the role of my fellow members of the government. I, as the Prime Minister, have the main task in hand in which I have to state the motion, which I have already done earlier. Next, I will highlight some of the keywords and define the motion of today's debate. Following...show more content... everyone has their own aspiration and ambitions that serve to define themselves in their lives. self motivation comes from within the person. being able to compete with more physically able students personally makes a physically challenged student to get rid of his/her prejudice of him/herself(lack of physical abilities makes him/her unable to compete mentally with normal students), thus motivating and spurring the individual to move forward. put it at a way that you were able to beat one of your classmates that is more "complete" than you, how would that make you feel? of course, it makes you feel better of yourself. proving that nothing is impossible for you to do. for example, muhammad rosli and ahmad of sekolah kebangsaan seksyen 27 in shah alam were born as conjoined twins and now succesfully seperated following an operation in saudi arabia in 2002. eventhough they were not like normal students, they still manage to get good results in their upsr which was 4a's and 1b in 2011 and are still educated in a normalschool. this relates back to being part of the society by having the attention of being able to do something you're more capable of. just imagine, ladies and gentlemen if they did not share the same school with normal people at their young ages, they probally would not get the self motivation needed for their future adulthoods being in the society itself. a great statistics to prove this is that, the national resources centre on learning disablity found that

1. Globalization affects national sovereignty of both developing countries as well as developed countries. By sovereignty, we mean the independence of countries to make decisions and conduct policy in different areas like the economy, corporate and industry related legislation, environmental regulations, politics, etc. From the video, please provide one example each of how globalization infringes on the national sovereignty of, a) a developing country, and, b) a developed country? How, and through which agency/organization/rule, did each of the above infringements occur?

Globalization infringes on the national sovereignty of a developing country and a developed country. In a developing country, there is usually suspicion that...show more content... Please provide two examples from the video of how globalization affected the culture of a country (can be more than one country)? Were the effects in your opinion, good or bad?

France – In France, in order to prevent the dilution of their culture, they have prohibited the business use of US terms such as le weekend and le drugstore. They also protect their movie industry. France also went into battle with McDonalds. "In the battle for France, Jose BovГ©, the protester who vandalized a McDonald's in 1999 and was then running for president, proved to be no match for Le Big Mac. The first round of the presidential election was held on April 22, and BovГ© finished an embarrassing tenth, garnering barely 1 percent of the total vote. By then, McDonald's had eleven hundred restaurants in France, three hundred more than it had had when BovГ© gave new meaning to the term "drive–through." The company was pulling in over a million people per day in France, and annual turnover was growing at twice the rate it was in the United States. Arresting as those numbers were, there was an even more astonishing data point: By 2007, France had become the second–most profitable market in the world for McDonald's, surpassed only by the land that gave the world fast food. Against McDonald's, BovГ© had lost in a landslide." The French, in my opinion, had a right to protect their culture from US "Coca–colonization", a term that refers to globalization or cultural

The Great Debate is about the weather or not to keep The Constitution. Which the Anti–Federalists didn't want around anymore. But The Federalists had believed that somebody had to have some type of power to keep all states in control at once. But it had to be ratified by at least 9/13 states to become a legal. But each side had their own opinions on how the states should be handled. The Federalists had Supported The Constitution, but didn't think it required a Bill Of Rights. They Thought it would be better to start from scratch with the Articles Of Confederation. Wanted to limit the Government with 3 branches of government (Legislative, Judicial, Executive). A stronger central government for unity and strength is needed for the nation. Therefore

Get more content

The Great Debaters This is a piece of history with the Harvard and Wiley college debate from the movie "The Great Debaters" with James Farmer Jr and Samantha Booke. This document takes place during the time period where discrimination had a huge effect on the lives of blacks. The purpose of this debate is to convince the audience whether or not civil disobedience is a moral weapon. Ms. Booke and Mr. Farmer believe that justice isn't divided equally, and that civil disobedience is a moral weapon in the fight of justice. The three modes of persuasion used are ethos, pathos and logos. After the Harvard dean finished speaking, Wiley college was up next and James Farmer Jr was the first to speak. As a result, Farmer started his...show more content... He called it a moral victory." Based on what Farmer conveys this is an example of pathos because it shows how determined they were and how they still chose domestic violence. Towards the end of Farmer's speech he finishes with another rhetorical question leading into logos, "Dyer's lesson or Gandhi's victory. You choose." This is an example of logos because Farmer is letting his audience choose whether acting violently and letting innocent people die, but succeeding or acting with civil disobedience and saving all those lives who succeeding is the moral thing to do. Once the first Harvard debater concluded his part of the debate Samantha Booke was next to speak. She begins her speech employing ethos, Samantha proclaims " Gandhi believes one must always act with love and respect for one's opponents even if they are harvard debaters." Samantha describes how important it is to display love and respect even if they are your enemies and explains some things the trusted and famous protester believed in. Booke also creates an ethical response using repetition when she says "Gandhi also believes that law breakers must accept the legal consequences for their actions." Leading into this quote Samantha applies a rhetorical question, "Does that sound like anarchy?" Samantha uses this rhetorical question to make the audience question themselves about their absence of authority. Samantha commences her second part of her speech by stating four powerful sentences utilizing

Get more content

The debates between Republican, Abraham Lincoln and Democrat, Stephen Douglas, were known as the Great Debates. There were three important parts that is worthy of taking note about these debates, these debates include the cause, the content, and the conclusion. First we see the causes of the debates. Both Lincoln and Douglas were running for a place in the United States Senate in Chicago, so the debates were held in Chicago. Leading up to the debate both candidates were rallying supporters and discussing many issues. The most important issue was whether Illinois...show more content...

Now, as mentioned before, the topic of debate was slavery, more specifically slavery expansion. Throughout the debates Douglas tried to get Lincoln to confess that he was an abolitionist, therefore explaining his opposition to slavery and basically defeating his opponent. But Lincoln claimed that if slavery expanded, the people are going against the Constitution which states that all men were created with equal rights no matter the race, intellect, size, moral development, or social standing. Douglas's opening speech questioned the audience whether they would want an African–American to have the same rights as a white man, as if it were something that would be terrible. To which Lincoln responded with the statement that all men were created equally. Douglas and Lincoln also discussed the Dredd Scott case, Douglas appealed the Dredd Scott decision because it deprived certain people of rights. Lincoln then challenged that another Dredd Scott case would expand slavery even to free states. Lincoln said Douglas did not care about whether slavery is voted up or down and challenged the Freeport Doctrine because it alienated Southerners. This proved to hurt Douglas because the Southerners would now vote for

Summary: The Great Debate

During the Great Debate, there were 2 sides. One was the Federalists, which beleived that the Constitution should be ratified, and the other, which were Anti–Federalists, were against the Federalist and beleived that the Constituation should not be ratify. In conclution, the Anti–Federalist was the Get more content

The debate on Medical marijuana has been a controversial subject mainly because people have an abundance of opinions and very little scientific research to back up either side of the debate. The most important question here is "will medical marijuana be used for medical purposes or will it be used inappropriately?"

Unlike a person who uses marijuana for medicine or entertainment, some people use marijuana as a means for income. Honestly marijuana sales is a very profitable business but the problem is that there is still a numerous amount of people who sell marijuana illegally. Usually with illegal sales of marijuana also comes other illegal activity. According to the DEA, "marijuana smuggling into the United States has occurred at...show more content...

Today's marijuana is much more powerful and much more addictive than it was a generation ago.'" "Federal laws classify marijuana as a schedule I drug along with heroin and LSD. Although marijuana may be addictive to some, the potential for forming an addiction may be lower than with some prescription drugs." (Live Science) Regardless, the reality is that marijuana IS a drug.

Marijuana is composed of approximately over four hundred chemicals. According to the Mayo Clinic "Marijuana contains at least 60 chemicals called cannabinoids. Researchers are evaluating how effective some of these cannabinoids might be in controlling symptoms of certain medical conditions. For example: THC, an abbreviation for delta–9–tetrahydrocannabinol, THC is the main component responsible for marijuana's mind–altering effect. It also may help treat signs and symptoms such as nausea and vomiting that are associated with a number of medical conditions. Cannabinol and cannabidiol, these compounds have some of the properties of THC, but cause less psychoactive effects – the high. [...]" Medical marijuana can be used to treat a variety of illnesses ranging from anxiety to more life threatening diseases like cancer. A person, in California, who uses marijuana medically agrees to follow the Health and Safety codes as defined by the Attorney General, Edmund G. Brown Jr., and the Department of Justice (state of

The Great Debates

The Great Debaters is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by and starring Denzel Washington. Written by Robert Eisele, based on a story by Mr. Eisele and Jeffrey Porro. The story is spin around the efforts of the debate coach Melvin B Tolson at wiley college who coached the college debate team. The team was including merely of African–American students at a time when racismand Jim Crow laws were still facts of life in the South. "The Great Debaters" is about a longs hot debate team that wins a national championship. The film is the journey of the coach MelvinTolson. He is brilliant teacher..He's organizing both poor whites and blacks, whose serfdom is equal. He conducts auditions and selects four members and he coach them and leads

Get more content

Before we move forward in determining what is effected by way of homework we need to examine the history that this debate is going through. The great homework debate has gone thru great changes since its inception. During earlier times children in the lower grades, grades one through four, received very little if any homework through the year, however the older grades received in upwards of three hours per night. As years went on we've seen this debate go from a positive factor for academics to a negative factor. There been many academic and child health organizations that have led various different movements on this debate. Just since the 1950s we have seen this debate take on numerous schools of thought from one extreme to the other. Often

Get more content

The Great Political Debate Ben Franklin once said there is only two certainties in life, death and taxes. Although you may not agree with this statement, it does provide two key topics that are highly debated amongst parties of the United States democracy. In terms of death, abortion and the death penalty are debated topics that each party has a different stance on. Those topics are an area of government that do not have a consensus. When it comes to taxes, every party has general ambitions on how to treat taxing citizens. Even though there are a multitude of political parties present in politics today, the only parties that are repeatedly mentioned election after election are the democratic and republican parties. These two parties usually...show more content...

The democratic party relates the issue of abortion in a court case called Roe verse Wade. In this court case, the US Supreme Court affirmed the legality of a woman's right to have an abortion under the 14th amendment. As one can see, depending on how you interpret the 14th amendment determines the outcome of legality. Since the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of the law, the states must grant the right to abortion, regardless of being a red state or not. Another democratic view on abortion is that a woman should never have to fear the ability to pay for an abortion. In the democratic platform for America in 2004 it stated, "we stand proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent withRoe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay" (Democratic platform). This is in opposition of the republican view, as republicans do not want health care providers to provide for abortions. The democratic view is that all women should have access to an abortion, which is most likely going to be through health care. Overall, one can see that the democratic view on abortion differs from the republican viewpoint through the interpretation of the 14th amendment and thoughts on paying for

Politics now a days is hard to understand and when we do understand and want to create change it's hard to get our government to create change. In "The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left," Levin tells the story of an unfriendly rivalry between the progenitors modern conservatism and modern liberalism. In the time Burke and Paine shared – the late 18th century – philosophical arguments could ignite revolutions, and pamphlets could be as important as battles. Both Burke and Paine were masters of political rhetoric at a time when political rhetoric really mattered, and their rivalry still reverberates. In today's society about conflicts between the police and minority communities in the US, Burk would take a position that the american government has to change some laws around in order to create equality and justice while Pain would take a position of starting all over is the way to go to create something better for all....show more content... Burke mentions that "the old and tried model will not always work, of course,but when it fails, societies would be wise to fix it by gradually building on what does work about it rather than by starting fresh with an untried idea" (66). By his quote he means that we have laws as well as expectations that have worked in the past to controlled the injustice happening with our minority communities but with new generations there's new change to happen because old techniques do not always work. As "society [is] always changing, its law need to change too"(9) in order to keep a balance of equality and justice in our society. Edmund Burke position is most likely to benefit more than Paines because theres is a idea,or vision, set up it just needs some fixing up to make more ideal for

Get more content

Peer Pressure

Good Debate Topics

Bored of the same old debate topics repeated and reiterated at every competition? Here are a few good debate topics that you can choose from for the next time you organize a debate.

As a student, one topic which I remember always making the rounds of the debating circuit was, does violence in television and movies influence the way children behave? By the end of my learning years, I was sure that I had heard every argument that could have been made about the topic. After all, how many examples can you give from television and how many instances of juvenile delinquency can you cite that resulted from watching a violent film? Yes, violence has permeated the media but can we for once stop making it the staple fodder for...show more content...

Recycling should be compulsory. God: myth or reality? Sexeducation – when is the right time to start it? Media censorship – a necessary change? Should the legal age allowing consumption of alcohol be raised? Abortion– should it be banned.

Good Debate Topics for College Students

College students are young adults who have informed opinions and the wherewithal to express themselves in a concise and intelligent manner. Given below are a few informative speech topics for college students. Evolution or creation: how did human beings come about? Nuclear proliferation: will development of nuclear weapons fuel a third world war? Quarter life crisis is the new midlife crisis? Is the world going to end in 2012? US military involvement in Iraq has done more good than harm. Is co–habitation the replacement for marriage? Human cloning should be allowed. Will there be another Holocaust? Do newborn babies remembers their past life? Media consolidation: pros and cons. Should same–sex partners have the same rights as heterosexuals? Are we overworking ourselves? The United States should eliminate its own weapons of mass destruction – do you agree or disagree? Is the American dream overrated? Is it justified to give a dictator a tit–for–tat treatment? The Roman Catholic Church policy forbidding the use of contraception should be

The Debate On Freedom Of Speech

The debate on freedom of speech becomes endless because there are a number of misconceptions going on. Speaking freely is just a valuable term to center our consideration on a specific type of human association but the expression is not intended to recommend that speech should not be invaded. No community has yet existed where speech has not been constrained to some degree. The main thing to note in any sensible examination of the right to speak freely is that it must be constrained. Each community places a few points of confinement on the activity of speech since speech dependably happens within a connection of contending values. Speech is essential since we are socially arranged. It just gets to be important to talk of such a privilege inside of a social setting (Barkley et al, 1879). At least, speech must be restricted for the purpose of orderliness. In the event that we as a whole talk without a moment 's delay, we wind up with an incomprehensible bedlam. Without a few principles and strategies we cannot have a discussion at all and hence speech must be restricted by conventions of essential thoughtfulness. The reality of the matter is that numerous human rights documentations give an unmistakable spot to one side to speech and inner voice, yet such reports likewise put limits on what can be said due to the mischief and offense that boundless speech can bring about. The current issue ought not to be to contend for a boundless area of free speech; such an idea cannot

Get more content

Informative Debate

Thank you for your informative debate regarding Medicaid funding for birth control. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 249,078 babies in 2014 were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 women in this age group (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Certain economic measures, including income, employment rates, and adolescents' education have negatively impacted teenage birthrates (Lou & Thomas, 2015). According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in 2013 there were 265,370 teenage childbirth hospital stays, which amounted to $1.1 billion in hospital costs (Fingar and Hambrick, 2016). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), established

Get more content

This essay will aim to describe and evaluate the behaviourist approach while referring to other perspectives and the key debates within psychology. Behaviourism believes that human behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without the need to consider thoughts or feelings (Cardwell & Flanagan, 2015). The Behaviourist approach has a number of assumptions such as it emphasises that psychology needs to be scientific, to do this you must only study observable and measurable behaviour while producing empirical data. This means that you can produce systematic and replicable results which would be reliable in their accuracy, so you are able to produce a credible conclusion to your theory (McLeod, 2016). This can be shown by research by Clark Hull (1943), in which he stated that we have two types of drives: primary, these are innate such as the drive for hunger and secondary which are conditioned such as the drive to earn money. Motivation (a response) is formed by the want to reduce these drives (a stimulus) as these cause discomfort and tension (Culatta, 2015). You will know if you have conditioned a drive to someone by (confusing) observing their behaviours associated with motivation and you can measure how many are displayed. And so, you can conclude whether drives can be conditioned or not. However, being scientific, on the whole, produces results with low ecological validity because to control variables, experimentation usually happens within a laboratory setting

The Great Debate: Science vs Religion

The relationship between religion and science has been a subject to numerous debates, earning its place in multiple forums and dominating the news. Disputes arise because science and religion are two very different disciplines. For instance, science is ultimately based on observation of nature while religion is largely based on faith. Conflicts between the two have existed for hundreds of years and will continue to do so, because of their different concepts of "truth". Nevertheless, reaching a consensus between science and religion is generally impossible and difficult to achieve, because each are certain of the validity of their own beliefs.

Undoubtedly, cloning is one of the many disagreements between science and religion that raise many questions when brought up within society. Articles,...show more content...

However, the two do not necessarily repel each other, the meeting point is in a person's perspective. Religion without science degenerates into superstition, while science without the help of religion gives rise to materialism and lack of faith. Science, to speak the truth, has only purified and strengthens the work of religion, whereas religion gives a certain line that prevents science from becoming inhumane and brutal. The same can be said about the controversial issue of cloning. Advocates state that cloning improves the overall quality of science and life, while critics stress over the clone's possible problems dealing with their emotional health and self worth. There is no simple way to resolve the conflicts between them, and reaching a consensus is generally impossible. However, the relationship between science and religion can be seen as partners not enemies, as described by Martin Luther King Jr. when he stated, "Science investigates and religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power. Religion gives man wisdom which is Get more content