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 Ahmed RI 15 yrs old 03/01/1993 Raffles Judo I am a piece of paper. My purpose is to have people write on me and to be printed by printers. I like the smell of wood because it smells like my parents. My ambition is to be thrown away and recycled. friends
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Saturday, August 30, 2008
as promised my debate substantives =)
THBT pornography should be banned. (opposition) Clash: Whether pornography is immoral, whether pornography has bad implications for society Context: Age of internet, where porn videos are easily accessible by many, today is an evaluation of the influence of these videos and how we can protect the relevant groups. Baseline: We believe that pornography should not be banned because it is a legitimate form of expression and entertainment and can benefit society. 1st Substantive Porn is a form of expression. Expressions are demonstrations of people’s views and ideas. Expressions are good for a societal dialectic, which sees a constant exchange of views that will ultimately lead to societal development. Therefore porn will ultimately contribute to societal development- this has already manifested as porn has been the driving force behind high definition videos. Expressions can only be limited if they cause substantial harm to society, in which the proposition have not convinced us of. Limiting expressions is thus limiting development as it limits the dialectical process, and has a lesser incentive for society to generate ideas. Therefore porn brings about societal development, and banning it will compromise principles such as the dialectic and freedom of expression. Furthermore, starting with banning porn, the government may also use protecting the people as an excuse to ban other forms of expression for its own aims. This may lead to a slippery slope. 2nd Substantive Porn is a form of entertainment. Entertainment lets us relieve pressure, in which porn is especially good at. Porn is also an easily accessible form of entertainment as it can be downloaded from the internet. Therefore banning porn is banning a legitimate form of entertainment which has benefits as a form of easily accessible and cheap entertainment. In our globalised world which operates at a fast pace, entertainment is especially important, and porn in this case can let us leave our world for a moment and enjoy ourselves. These benefits from entertainment has manifested in real terms. Kutchinsky in 1973 and 1985 conducted studies on Denmark and Germany respectively and had shown how legalizing pornography led to reduced sexual crimes. The results have also been replicated in Japan by Abramson and Hayashi. Therefore porn benefits society as a form of entertainment and can lead to reduced sexual crime rates. Therefore, considering how porn is a form of expression and leads to benefits to individual and society, porn should not be banned. 3nd Substantive Freedom of choice is important as it respects the individuality and dignity of each person and their choices. We say that as long as their choices do not compromise on others, their choice must be respected. Not respecting their choice is a form of oppression that team opposition does not tolerate. The choice of watching pornography is perfectly legitimate and we say that it is important to individuals and society. We are not extending this choice to very young children as we feel that they are unable to make that choice, due to a lack of understanding of themselves, the society and pornography. Even if they may be detriments of pornography, taking away choice is not the way to go. Side proposition must realize that life is not a bed of roses, and we are faced with many choices throughout out life. Some of the choices, when made wrongly, can severely compromise our lives. However, side proposition aims to take away those choices from the people. Firstly, that is clearly impossible due to the infinite choices that we make. Secondly, an analogy can be drawn to an overprotective parent, which will lead to lack of independence of the child. This is detrimental to the child, as the child will be over dependent and incapable of making choices. When we are not given the chance to make choices, we do not accumulate experience to help us make better choices in the future. Even if we are shielded from some tough choices, we may make others wrongly, and a child without experience will continue to do so. The more you protect the child, the more he is unable to make choices, which will result in a greater need to protect the child. This leads to a vicious cycle that side proposition must resolve. Contrast this to independent people that team opposition wants to see in the society, by letting them make choices. If they made a wrong choice, they may suffer but will emerge more experienced from then onwards. We see a period where people may make a few wrong choices at the start, but they will gain experience and make better choices in the future. Banning porn takes away ability of the people to make choices, and will result in a society that is not independent and one that will keep making wrong choices. |