Debating Policy Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Debating Policy Issues - Essay Example debaters often resort to faster usage of speech so as to include as much evidence as possible in support of their arguments put forward in the debate which further helps in lending credibility to their claims while in yet another case, the debaters might include several arguments to counter the claims made by their opponents. In academic debates including more quantity is often considered an act of displaying knowledge and educational and hence appreciated while it might be criticized outside the debate community. While slow speed is often used to include laymen or common people in the purview of their audience (Cheshire, 2008). The order of speeches in various forms of policy debate is fixed such as 1AC – First Affirmative Constructive which includes cross examining the First Affirmative by the second negative, 1NC – First Negative Constructive i.e., cross examining the first negative by second constructive, 2AC – Second Affirmative Constructive i.e., cross examining the second affirmative by first constructive, 2 NC – Second Negative Constructive i.e., cross examining the second negative by first constructive etc. Similarly the other forms of policy debate include; 1NR – First Negative Rebuttal, 1AR – First Affirmative Rebuttal, 2NR – Second Negative Rebuttal and 2AR – Second Affirmative Rebuttal. The time for all these forms of policy debates varies with high school and college debates. For instance the time allotted for all constructive speeches in high school is generally eight minutes and for rebuttal the time allotted is five minutes. Similarly in college, the time allotted for constructive speeches is nine minutes and six minutes are allowed for rebuttal. The period for cross examination, however is same in high school as well as college i.e., three minutes. The first speech given in a round of policy debate is the 1AC and is presented by the affirmative team. This team usually focuses its attention on advocating on textual issues to

Causes and Effects in Zeitoun Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Causes and Effects in Zeitoun - Essay Example Zeitoun, as Abdulrahman is addressed in the novel, remains in the city during the storm away from his family. His experience at sea gives him an insight into his present and he knows he has been chosen for this task. The Hurricane Katrina in particular plays a vital role as it affects the lives of many characters especially Zeitoun’s. Being away from family Zeitoun struggles in the sunken city with his canoe helping people out of the mess the storm had caused and checking on his properties. Kathy meanwhile is under great pressure from her relatives who show no respect for her religious practices such as her â€Å"hijab† and urge her to have pork. Without Zeitoun she is all alone with her children in what may seem to be a hurricane, much greater than Katrina. Zeitoun continues working hard making himself available as much as he could, feeding abandoned dogs and helping the others in need. He feels that this is a task that God has deliberately put him in so he should give it his best shot. If the storm did not occur, he would have been united with his family trying to cope with their personal issues. The hurricane brought with it a test for the people of New Orleans and exposed the brutalities of the government. Kathy manages to escape from her relatives and goes to live with her Muslim friends in Phoenix with her children. Kathy and Zeitoun talk to each other through a phone connection that is still working in one of their properties. The calls suddenly stop to Kathy’s surprise and she does not hear from her husband for many days thinking he has died. Then she learns that Zeitoun and three of his friends have been arrested. Unfortunately they were accused of being terrorists. Zeitoun receives this favor from the government for helping people in the hard time during the hurricane and the brutality which follows leaves the readers to wonder what wrong Zeitoun had done to deserve such a treatment. â€Å"The country he had left thirty years ago had been a realistic place. There were political realities there, then and now, that precluded blind faith†¦ always, would work out fairly and equitably. But he had come to believe such things in the United States. Things had worked out. Difficulties had been overcome. He had worked hard and achieved success. The machinery of government functioned. †¦--the policy, the military, the prisons--that was meant to protect people like him was devouring anyone who got close.† (Egger 2010) The politics and nature seem to be working so closely in the novel that one wonders if both were part of the same plot. The hurricane and the war on terror coincided in the United States so much so that both took the lives of the innocents some way or the other. Zeitoun is forced to stay in a Guantanamo-style jail behind a bus station where he is suspected and informed by the guards that he is a terrorist; a piece of information that he himself is surprised to hear. On being returned to hi s family he looks like â€Å"a sad old man† who has lost nearly twenty pounds of weight. Zeitoun still believes that God had His way of testing him (Egger 2010). The test seems to be a two-way deal. It did not only test a random Syrian painting contractor who lived in New Orleans, it also tested the nation’s ability to protect its own people. The story of Zeitoun spells the sorry state of affairs that the nation was undergoing. What remains a mystery