posted by steve's request.
So I went to a small gathering with Steve and his friends Mike and Beth, among other people, and it brought me back to a time of philosophy, current events, public speaking, and a healthy exchange of ideas: in short, high school debate. My file box is sitting on a table in the Sycamore house, full of memories (of things related and not related to debate. It's like my little time capsule.) Anyway, so I open it, and the very last folder in the back is labeled "West Coast WMD Kritiks", so I laugh and pull it out. I explain to Steve that the LD debate competitive season is shorter than the CX season. So at the end of my senior year (spring 2001), after my debate career was effectively over, my duty in class was to help the young CXers prepare their 2001-2002 cases (UIL topic.) (LDers don't get their topics until the beginning of the semester they're to debate them, but the CX topic stays the same for a full school year and the powers that be choose and announce it the preceding spring, as I recall.)
The 2001-02 CX Debate Topic was this:
Resolved: That the United States federal government should establish a foreign policy significantly limiting the use of weapons of mass destruction.
So in my debate classroom, in the spring of 2001, we sat around talking extensively about weapons of mass destruction, about Osama bin Laden (one of us that was in informative speaking drew him at district), about nuclear non-proliferation treaties, about the Nunn-Luger(sp?) plan, about NBCs (nuclear, biological, chemical weapons.) I remember briefing a lot of material about anthrax, in particular, and talking about what would happen if someone got hold of one of those viruses that we've eradicated *cough*smallpox*cough*, or mutated stuff we've only got under control. I remember reading reams of treaties, talking about who's in the UN and who's not, and all of that, and reading (although it wasn't strictly relevant) disaster plans about what to do in case of catastrophe X.
I remember a bright freshman named Matt Thiem working on his definitions, joking around that "dude, practically anything could be a WMD! I mean, even a plane could be a WMD if you crash it into a population center! Are we going to have non-airplane treaties now? How the hell are we going to cover all of this?"
I remember standing in front of the TV on Tuesday, September 11th, and feeling everything I'd been talking about since May go click, and thinking, "Holy shit, I've got to call Chase." (Chase was my debate partner and is still my best friend.)
Steve found it ironic how timely our debate topics were.
The 2001-02 CX Debate Topic was this:
Resolved: That the United States federal government should establish a foreign policy significantly limiting the use of weapons of mass destruction.
So in my debate classroom, in the spring of 2001, we sat around talking extensively about weapons of mass destruction, about Osama bin Laden (one of us that was in informative speaking drew him at district), about nuclear non-proliferation treaties, about the Nunn-Luger(sp?) plan, about NBCs (nuclear, biological, chemical weapons.) I remember briefing a lot of material about anthrax, in particular, and talking about what would happen if someone got hold of one of those viruses that we've eradicated *cough*smallpox*cough*, or mutated stuff we've only got under control. I remember reading reams of treaties, talking about who's in the UN and who's not, and all of that, and reading (although it wasn't strictly relevant) disaster plans about what to do in case of catastrophe X.
I remember a bright freshman named Matt Thiem working on his definitions, joking around that "dude, practically anything could be a WMD! I mean, even a plane could be a WMD if you crash it into a population center! Are we going to have non-airplane treaties now? How the hell are we going to cover all of this?"
I remember standing in front of the TV on Tuesday, September 11th, and feeling everything I'd been talking about since May go click, and thinking, "Holy shit, I've got to call Chase." (Chase was my debate partner and is still my best friend.)
Steve found it ironic how timely our debate topics were.