Back in the bully pulpit

Yesterday Owen and I took part in the inaugural Singapore Debate Open, after a painful prelude to it which is too long and messy to be related here. The important thing is that the Open was thoroughly enjoyable and worth all the hassle. We did relatively well, coming in 2nd, 3rd, and 2nd for the three preliminary rounds, which is even more commendable considering the following conditions: (a) we have not debated competitively in over a year, (b) this would be the first time we were debating in British Parliamentary style, and most crucially (c) we are serving NS, meaning our brains have been more or less languishing in limbo for the past year. And now, for a blow by blow account of the day.

For those who don't know, the British Parliamentary (BP) style of debating involves 4 teams of 2 in the same room, with 2 teams on each side. This is why instead of just saying who won the debate, judges rank the teams from 1 to 4, with 1st position worth 3 points and 4th earning you zero. Yesterday we got 5 points out of a possible 9.

The first motion was on political freedom: THBT the West should end military cooperation with Pakistan till it allows political opposition candidates to return home from exile. I shall always remeber this debate as the one where I successfully gave Owen a 10 minute briefing on the Pakistani domestic situation, AND, he pulled it off in his speech. The chief adjudicator was convinced he knew his stuff. As for me he was sufficiently impressed by my in-depth analysis (I ripped from the economist most liberally) to invite me to join NUS debates when I enter haha.

The second was THW ban the extradition of accused serial rapists to countries which might impose the death penalty by stoning. This one was bad. Very messy and frankly, my speech was appalling. We both know next to nuts about Shariah law except that it allows stoning to death and some half-formed assertions on its lack of accountability etc. Ah well, at least we weren't ranked 4th.

Now, the last debate was most interesting. THBT all churches should stop preaching that homosexuality is an abomination. I happened to be on the side of the closing government, so you can imagine my initial doubts about this motion. But as in all debates it really doesn't matter what side you're initially on. Every argument can be rebutted. In this case I suppose it was a little more extreme, but we pulled it off. In fact I gave my best speech of the day for it. I wonder what implications that has...

So, overall, a very fruitful and enjoyable experience. What I like about BP style is its rowdiness and aggression. You have people crying "hear, hear" or "shame, shame" from both sides of the house, and at one point it almost resembled a shouting match haha. I suppose it adds some spice.