Writing Prompt: Must Everything Be a Debate?

This week's assignment was quite an interesting read that I enjoyed. I never got into debate in high school, but I have been exposed to in through leadership conferences and youth government trainings. I will never forget a debate I witnessed between two girls about college acceptance and quotas that must be met for different ethnicities. Their polite debate soon escalated to a full out brawl with yelling and crying. I know this may seem like a strong, exaggerated example of what can happen in heated argument, but after reading through Tannen's article about debate i feel that she was making a profound point that applies to this story. When people only allow themselves to see their own situation, they miss out on many other perspectives. These two girls were so set in their ways they didn't stop to think of the other persons situation. Debate can bring many good points, but there must be some compromise on both parts if debate is going to be beneficial to anyone. I like the idea of being able to share one's opinion, but there is a point when one must listen to anther's. I like the part in this essay where Tennan talks about looking at things through not only two cultural perspectives, but through many. This is the point I derived from this essay. She is clearly a gifted academic writer.