This is in relation to the recently locked thread "Does alcohol improve your writing?"
It turned into a fairly heated argument, but along the way a statement was made about 'creating tension.'
We should not be afraid of tension. Argument is good, and both tension and conflict can be good. If we're to have mature arguments over very tough issues on this board, we all need to learn to debate without anger or petty sniping. I can speak with people over all sorts of issues - drug use, rape, violence, murder, capital punishment, war, what-have-you - because I can detach from the issue and speak rationally, ignoring whatever my own emotions might be telling me to do. I believe this is a very valuable skill. It is a skill that those in the above-mentioned thread should attempt to cultivate, as well.
I do not wish to see a lot of locked threads and banned topics on these boards. I have a strong dislike of censorship and limitation of speech. To that end, I hope we can all adopt some sort of ethic for treating these issues rationally. I invite everyone to use this thread to discuss that ethic and the ways in which we can make it evident.
It turned into a fairly heated argument, but along the way a statement was made about 'creating tension.'
We should not be afraid of tension. Argument is good, and both tension and conflict can be good. If we're to have mature arguments over very tough issues on this board, we all need to learn to debate without anger or petty sniping. I can speak with people over all sorts of issues - drug use, rape, violence, murder, capital punishment, war, what-have-you - because I can detach from the issue and speak rationally, ignoring whatever my own emotions might be telling me to do. I believe this is a very valuable skill. It is a skill that those in the above-mentioned thread should attempt to cultivate, as well.
I do not wish to see a lot of locked threads and banned topics on these boards. I have a strong dislike of censorship and limitation of speech. To that end, I hope we can all adopt some sort of ethic for treating these issues rationally. I invite everyone to use this thread to discuss that ethic and the ways in which we can make it evident.