Trifles about Debate

There is a widespread belief that action speaks louder than words, but not always. In some cases, action can be easily to be ignored, while relatively we are obliged to make our voiced heard and get our idea across. In other cases, there are questions like “To be, or not to be?” that cannot simply answered by yes or no. Under these circumstances, what shall we do to pass a judgment?
Debate!

As is stated in our supplementary materials, debate is a kind of art. This art not just requires a silver tongue or a golden mouth, but also based on a sharp point of view, a quick mind and critical thinking. It is a war of tongues and words. It is a conflict of ideas and thoughts.

These descriptions remind me of the famous debaters in ancient China, such as Zhu Geliang, Ji Xiaolan. Zhu Geliang . the most well-known military counselor of Shu in the era of SanGuo, once went to Wu all by himself to persuade the king of Wu, who used to be peaceful and unwilling g to be involved in the war, to unite together in order to resist the force of Caocao. Of course, he succeeded and the story passed down and down known as “Zhu Geliang one silver tongue win one thousand intellectuals”. The anecdotes of Ji Xiaolan in Qing Dynasty are also celebrated, especially after the TV dramas “Silver-tongued, Golden-mouthed Ji Xiaolan”. He saved his life and got free of punishment for many times in front of the empire by his tricky and clever games of words.

However, sometimes when the war of tongue is too severe or the fighters do not pay enough attention to his behavior, the debate might be no longer a debate as graceful as it should be, but become a rude quarrel. This case can happen when the debate is not properly organized, the atmosphere is not well dominated or most probably, the debaters lack the quality of being a standard debater. The vital rule for a debater to observe is to respect the opponents. The same goes for an athlete, or even an ordinary person living a normal life.
As an old saying goes, tongue is the most powerful weapon. It kills without blood. It murders without a knife.

Most intriguingly, a professional debater can argue for the position even though he himself totally disagrees with the opinion. But still he can make the opponents speechless and tongue-tied. Despite the results of the competition, there is usually no winner or loser in a debate. Even though the winner can sometimes manage to make his opponents out of words, it is still extremely difficult to make the opponents believe his opinion. It is the most pity and somehow goes against the ultimate goal of a debate.

Life is not a debate, your purpose is, and should never be merely to make your opponents speechless. A hero is great not by his power, but by his thought, the thought to influence. It is the behavior and kind action that can leave a mark in other’ mind and echo with delight.