Declining life expectancy in the usa a sign of a dying culture
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After 1 vote and with 6 points ahead, the winner is...
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Life expectancy in the USA is declining because of hopelessness a clear sign of cultural decline https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/09/us-life-expectancy-has-been-declining-heres-why.html
C1: Life Expectancy is A Poor Predictor of Dying Cultures
The zeitgeist is never composed of purely positive qualities though. Despite the fervent discontent the American public had for the 2016 election (which the US will inevitable experience again in the 2020 election), no one can deny that it was one that was culturally significant. Trump’s brand of nationalism revitalized nativism and became a rallying cry for Americans who perceived that the US was leaving them behind. Additionally, the scandals, lies, and failed policies that marred the candidates in the 2016 elections will probably be discussed in history classes in a matter of decades. In fact, economic downturns and widespread death has led to cultures developing, even if the people suffered. The Vietnam War comes to mind with its chest-thumping, anti-war songs and civil protests. The Great Depression also has a recognizable culture of oppression and cynical rejection of the American Dream. Perhaps the most noticeable culture that developed out of reductive attitudes would be the civil rights movements that inspired minority groups to struggle for true freedom.
Sources
My opponent has not addressed my original points. Extend these across the entire debate.
My opponent needed to show how America’s cultural traditions, art, or way of life is dying due to the drug abuses and suicides. He never does that. For all we know, this isn’t indicative of a dying culture, but instead is a sign of a dying population. While there is some overlap in the definitions, they aren’t completely intertwined. Also, as my opponent noted, the US has experienced a dip in life expectancy before and recovered. How do we know that the dip in life expectancy isn’t temporary? Furthermore, was/is American culture always positive? The answer to the latter is no. As I’ve shown through my numerous examples, the US has gone through civil wars, depressions, and draconian working conditions. Culture flourished in the form of books, art, new ideas, and social organizations.
Even if my opponent similarly thinks that the link between his points and the topic is “obvious,” he needs to explain it. Sans any analysis, I implore the judges to strike this point from the flow.
C1: Life Expectancy is A Poor Predictor of Dying Cultures
Wholly untouched by pro.
C2: Culture is Changing, Not Dying
Wholly untouched by pro. Con made a pretty nuanced case, showing that cultural trends go away and come back (he used corporate greed; if doing this again I suggest using disco, as seen with the 2000's Pop bands which would have fit right in).
C3: Drugs
I am unsure how pro intended to anchor this one bit for a win. A slight fluctuation in life expectancy, doesn't mean it'll continue and shorten out lives in 10 in about 300 years (his own evidence showed this, citing that this decline was the first time it had happened in a hundred years...). All pro really showed was that parts of our culture like drugs, which unless drugs actually kill them all rapidly (all those young people at once), won't lead to any cultural demise.
BoP:
This is just for pro... The secret to using BoP is to not argue about it so much, just do your job in the debate and it will fulfill itself. Experienced debaters like con will throw a quick sentence at it, but he also spaced that out from his argument, us voters see it's part of the usual preamble and know whats there, so don't even read it; we care about the back and forth debate. Technicalities like it only matter if the debate is close enough to need a tie-breaker.
Sources:
Pro did not seem to understand his own source material working against his points, even as he quoted it... This is a a fantastic improvement from him, but still needs work to not self-sabotage.
Con used various, integrated into his case via their implications being quickly explained within the context of the date. The one about the US Military getting involved to help the rich manipulate the market, was quite enjoyable, and proved sustained culture across generations in spite of some people dying.
Conduct:
Forfeiture (50% means people can just vote based on this).
Thats an overgeneralization and not related to culture. There was culture during the Civil War in which half the country died. I agree that drug addiction and suicide is a problem, but we've been through worse and still had "culture." Very few would say that the Great Depression was a good time in America. Yet, the culture of America continued. For future reference, I would define what "cultural death" is at the beginning of the debate.
everyone is on drugs, and those that arent are commiting suicide but our society isnt dieing? seriously?
I didn't die, but I lost my soul to the shadow realm. I suppose, in a way, that is spiritual death. Seriously, listening to Imagine Dragons is like having an ice pick wedged in your brain and letting it wriggle around before being dislodged and swung directly to your gonads. I don't know who sets out to make that kind of music, but it sure doesn't appeal to me. No offense to Imagine Dragons fans.
No one survived Imagine Dragon songs!
Thanks for the vote!
Perhaps, but you need to explicitly link to the topic. How does death lead to a decline in Western culture? You could say that the death tarnishes Western Democracy and is indicative of civilization's slow descent into destruction, but that needs to be proven. Just saying that young people are dying isn't empirical proof of that, especially if we survived civil war, pandemics, and Imagine Dragon songs.
But Anderson said the latest data suggest this mortality trend is heavily influenced by the ongoing drug epidemic and a rising rate of suicides nationwide. And many people dying as a result of those two causes tend to be younger than in recent decades, he said.
But Anderson said the latest data suggest this mortality trend is heavily influenced by the ongoing drug epidemic and a rising rate of suicides nationwide. And many people dying as a result of those two causes tend to be younger than in recent decades, he said.
But Anderson said the latest data suggest this mortality trend is heavily influenced by the ongoing drug epidemic and a rising rate of suicides nationwide. And many people dying as a result of those two causes tend to be younger than in recent decades, he said.
what aspect of millions of dying drug addicts and Milions of suicidal teens doesn't scream decline to you?
Well, thank you! I guess these troll-ish people can shock you. I hope it turns out to be a good debate!
I didn't see their other debates, actually. I make it a habit not to judge anybody too soon. Perhaps they'll shock me. Also, the topic intrigued me. It isn't too often that I debate something related to society as opposed to nuts-and-bolts policy. Incidentally, nice debate on the death penalty. It is nice to see a death penalty debate not about outright banning it, lest the topic become tired.
Cashing in on the free wins now, too? Lmao
were gonna get a nice ass-whooping!