Debate is a crucible in which students learn to subsume their egos and work with teammates from different backgrounds, while under significant pressure. Successful politicians, business leaders and US Supreme Court justices are often former debaters.
Political debates are massive undertakings. Hosting universities construct or retrofit buildings for the venue and build out supporting spaces that include spin alleys, candidate holding rooms, surrogate viewing areas, press filing centers, staff work spaces, ticket distribution, and more. Streets are closed to accommodate Secret Service motorcades and thousands of audience members traveling to the event. The debates themselves require extensive preparation by the candidates and the moderator.
In the age of social media, it is easy to perceive America as a nation constantly in argument; off-hand remarks spark fierce screaming matches on news sites and across Twitter; and public discontent with institutions is high. But the reality is that most debates in America are not with strangers typing at each other on their computers but rather among family and friends who discuss their differences in a respectful and constructive manner, leaving them feeling positive after the discussions.
In order to improve the quality of political debate, many have suggested a variety of reforms, such as more time for discussion of specific policy positions, the use of chess clocks that visibly display each candidate’s speaking time (e.g., green indicating 30 seconds of remaining time, yellow indicating 15 seconds and red indicating only 5 seconds remain), more varied topics in each debate, cross-examination by the candidates, opening and closing statements, and a variety of other reforms. But debates can only be improved if there is a willingness to make changes and adjust the public perception of debate.
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