Beyond Feelings

220 PART THREE A Strategy
restore them. Many debaters seem to have taken for granted that the term itself
has one meaning that everyone understands. Is their assumption warranted?
Investigate and determine the meanings of “family values.” If you find significant
differences in people’s definitions, build a reasonable composite, explain it
thoroughly, and answer the objections critics might raise about it.
11. “What people view on television or in films can’t affect their thinking and
actions,” argue many in the artistic community. Those who disagree point out
that the same artistic community creates public service messages aimed at changing
people’s minds about drinking and driving, having sex without condoms,
and abusing the environment. These critics reason that if a medium has the power
to help, it also has the power to harm, and they urge artists and programmers to
take an honest look at the messages they put on the screen. Which point of view
is more insightful?
12. In Asian cultures marriages traditionally have been arranged for young
people. In our culture young people are free to choose their own spouses. Might
it be a good idea, with our divorce rate soaring and so many families in disarray,
for our culture to follow the Asian custom?
13. Since television became a major entertainment medium in the late 1940s
and early 1950s, the TV commercial has become as familiar as the newspaper. Yet
few people know very much about commercials. How much do they cost? Who
really pays for them? What effects do they have on our lives? Would commercialfree,
pay TV be more desirable?
14. Animal intelligence has been a matter of scientific interest since at least
the time of Darwin. Can animals “think” in any meaningful sense of the term?
Can they form categories (friend, master, my species, and so on)? Are they aware
of themselves and their activities? Do they have a sense of past and future, or do
they perceive only the present moment? What is the most reasonable view of
such issues?
15. Interscholastic and intercollegiate sports competition is as American as
apple pie. To many people the mere suggestion that these programs should be
abolished is the ultimate heresy. But should they be so sacred? Where did the
idea of varsity sports originate? Is it older than intramural competition? What are
its good and bad points?
16. Proponents of a guaranteed annual wage argue that by giving every
adult person an assured amount of money, we would not only eliminate poverty
and its terrible effects but also eliminate an entire bureaucracy—the giant welfare
system—and perhaps even save money. Opponents see more harmful effects.
What are some of those effects? Might they outweigh the benefits?
17. Historically in this country, high school and college athletic budgets have
been divided unevenly, with men’s teams getting a larger share than women’s.
Many object to this unequal treatment; others believe it is justified because men’s
teams traditionally have demonstrated a higher level of skill. Which view is
more reasonable? What changes, if any, should be made in the distribution of
funds?
18. Compulsory education is so common today that we tend to forget it is
a fairly recent historical development. However, some social critics are not only
aware of its recency but also convinced it is no longer a sound idea. In their view
children, even as young as six or eight, should be permitted a free choice of