"I am here to help you to find, take back, and keep your righteous mind."
Melvin B. Tolson
The Great Debaters 2007
Life is a stage. We stand in front of an audience; we embark on portraying our own character, and we move around the scenes as like we are choreographing our relationships with one another. Some of us prefer to be "behind the scenes"; while others are "front and center", playing the leading role. As we look into debate; we immediately assume someone is going to persuade us, argue against us, or try to dominate our preconceived bias notion on a particular topic of controversy. So, how do we separate debate and conversation through competition?
Well... sometimes we just don't.
When I look back on my speech and debate experiences, I recall knowing that, not only did all the people want to talk and argue; they all found quite joy in hearing themselves speak. Don't we all like to hear ourselves talk? It goes with the saying that people like to hear their name. Our voices are the most comforting thing to ourselves. It is our own recognition of our souls. Debaters are looking at both sides of an issue; the pro and the con; the argument and the rebuttal, and ultimately the most persuasive audience reaction.
Are we as human beings constantly debating one another?
In the film, Professor Melvin Tolson coaches a debate team through a nearly-undefeated season as they go up against Harvard. The conflicts, controversy and sub-contexts of this film allow critics like you, and I, to speak our thoughts and listen to each others hesitations and concerns. Each day we embrace words and demonstrate how those effect us individually. We all have opinions; we all have morals, political beliefs, and redeemable mechanisms to deal with un-easiness in propaganda and speech.
When we see that life, speech, voice, body language and words are about communicating with one another; we realize that someone always wants to win their argument; even if it cost them their relationships.
Maybe you compete knowing that you can't pick a side to every issue. Maybe you compete knowing that your belief in something is irrelevant to those in which you surround yourself amongst because they are un-educated to realize the difference. If we continue to compete speech; are we left without debate? Think about what it is that makes you, you. Is it your character, your charisma, your intuition, your values or even your speech that you choose to vocalize?
How we talk to each other, is how the world interprets how we receive such debate within ourselves.
This quote in the film touched me deeply....
"We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do." - James Farmer Jr.
Isn't that of utmost truth? We sometimes are pushed up against a wall when we want to do something that something else is holding us back from. We sometimes have barriers that contain that emotional connection with our choices. As we age, and as we learn to listen more than speak with loose tongues; we realize that the lessons we've taught each other, are more closely linked to the perception we wish to ensue on future generations of listeners and speakers.
It's time for your chance at the podium. What is it that you want to say?
Speech and debate always wanted facts and statistics from their debaters; life sometimes is just the opposite. We become the statistic after we expel the information we've been withholding, and create a fact, that leads to applause and even a standing ovation. Pick your battles; but win your voice. Listen to yourself sing without the shower running, or the speakers blaring. It is quite alright to not be the world's great lyricist; just be the smartest voice you know; because you are only competing yourself if you choose to avoid the debate.
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Comments
scanner...we do go through life debating others and ourselves. The twinkie concept; you crack me up. The pros and cons make us versitile; when we squash the concept all together its like devouring the evidence. Good thought here.
Ann... it was very inspirational. Denzel always moves the audience. It's ok to debate, its ok to have conflict; we have to work through our hesitations to succeed. Thanks for your comment. Awesome!
Thanks for your thoughts on this excellent movie. And the great thing about it is that it's a true story.
Thanks for your comment. We all find ourselves debating our internal choices and it just takes one person to press our buttons and "poof" we have an argument!
Good thoughts here... thanks to you all.