Argument Rope-A-Dope

Several posts ago, I blogged about how to win an argument. However, I excluded some of the more modern approaches to deflect an argument.

• The Two Pronged Attack: Question the other person's facts AND question their motives. Example: you are caught cheating on a test. You say to the teacher, "Everyone was cheating on this test. In fact, compared to everyone else, I cheated the least. You just singled me out just because I am (insert some race, sex, age, income or other demographic). " No matter what the teacher says, you have placed the teacher on the defensive.
• The Preliminary Defense: Question the timing or completeness of the other person's facts. "Yes, the sun did rise in the East yesterday and the day before, but to say that it will always rise in the East, well that is certainly a preliminary statement."
• The U-2 are Wrong Defense: This searches to find a technicality that makes the other person as wrong as you are. "While it is true that I did copy my answer from wikipedia, your exam question is nothing more than a paraphrase of the third question at the end of chapter 2 of the textbook. The college handbook states that our teachers will ask us new and innovative questions, so you are as guilty as I am."
• The You are Biased Defense: This finds bias in whatever the other person observes that is critical of your biases. "Obama's birth certificate? You never asked to see George W Bush's certificate. You must be a racist!"
• The Bigger Picture Defense: "You say I have so much potential. Don't you think it would be wrong to flunk me because I cheated on your exam? If you flunk me, you will not only deprive me of getting into a good college, but will also deprive hundreds or thousands of people from the great things I could do with a college degree. And don't you think that the good of our society is much more important than my minor transgression?" This defense has been most effectively used in defending President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky affair and John Edwards in his affair. This approach was used to great comedic effect in the movie "Animal House" during the Fraternity Trial scene.
• The Trust Defense: You deny all information and beliefs, relying only on the ones you trust. "Yes, I hear you that the Congressional Budget Office says that President Obama's new program will cost us 1 trillion dollars, and I agree that we cannot afford to go into deeper debt, but I trust President Obama, so I know he will make things work out in the end."
• The You are a Hypocrite Defense: "You tell me that the biggest problem with America today is that we are all too self centered. Did you not notice how giving Americans are? We helped in Haiti and now are helping in Japan. Not too shabby for a self centered culture! By the way, I didn't see your name on the list of donors to the crisis in Japan.

None of these approaches actually deals with the issue. They all deflect or confound the argument. At no point is the true issue actually addressed.

It might be fun to make a list of these tactics and see how often they are used during political speeches and talk show interviews. Also, I would be curious if members of one political party tend to use one tactic more than another.

I am so beautiful, to me!

We are in the age of narcissism. We are entitled to things, just because. We not only reward ourselves, but also expect to be rewarded by others. We deserve a break today; we are worth it; we deserve only the best. If we choose to reward ourselves after we have actually earned it, that is one thing. It is something completely different to borrow to satisfy wants or to expect it from others, such as from the government. We also trick ourselves by re-defining wants as needs. For a while we have been able to survive this without total financial collapse, but we are coming to the end of that. When we consume conspicuously, we bankrupt ourselves and our society. Regrettably, our government has the same disease, so we are in a use it or lose it scenario. If you don't spend it, the government will just tax it away.

We need fiscal responsibility at all levels and to not fall for the defining of wants as needs.