For or Against

[Aesir]

My attempt at generating content, hijacked and edited from the really old thread, basically fill it out honestly.

Abortion- Pro-life or Pro-choice?

Affirmative Action- refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, genetic information, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group "in areas of employment, education, and business", usually justified as countering the effects of a history of discrimination. (hijacked from wiki)

Biometric National Identification- National ID containing thumbprint, retina scan, DNA marker tester or other bio-identifier For more Information go here it sums up a lot of the complex issues with here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometrics

Cloning- The use of embryionic tissue to create life, such as specific organs or specific people. Usually for research

Death Penalty- The taking away of life as punishment for a crime

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- Allowing someone to die or killing them to remove pain and suffering

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- The right to express yourself, through language, speech, and art, with as little supervision as possible

Genetic Engineering- Changing, removing or enhancing DNA to create modify or fix a genetic problem or add beneficial traits More information can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_engineering

Gun Control- Restricting firearms to the private citizen (You can explain why you are for this if you feel it necessary

Homosexual Equality- The belief that homosexuals should have the same rights as anyone else, and not be prejudice because of their sexual preference

Drug War- The belief that you can stop the use of drugs by prohibiting it.

Mandatory Military Draft- Required four or more years of service to your government. Not military draft in war times

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Required minimum sentences for specific crimes

Minimum Drinking Age- Requiring a minimum age to allow people to drink

Pass/Fail Grading System- Grading system where effort dictates whether someone passes or fails regardless of quality of work

Porn/Adult Entertainment- Movies, books, live shows, magazines, etc. which include adults performing sex acts or other explicit material

Prayer in School- Allowing people to pray wherever they wish

Premarital Sex- Sexual relations before marriage

Racial Profiling- Observing one race more than another because they are known to commit more of a specific crimes

Separation of Church and State- The belief that government and religion should be separate. The government cannot endorse nor promote any religion over another

Sex Education in School- Teaching kids about sex in school

Violence in Entertainment- Allowing explicit or obscene material in movies, TV and other media for their entertainment value

Women in the Draft- Requiring that women join the draft

Women in the military- Whether women should be allowed in the military

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Basically the idea that for a set period of time you do something whether it be military or peace corps type work for 2 years and the government gives you a free ride through college.

Recessions/Depressions- When the economy starts to decline what is the course of action? Spend or Cut.

Net Neutrality- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality

Polygamy- The Practice of having more than one spouse

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)

Child Porn- Needs to be explained more if you say for or against.

 

[Budget Player Cadet_]

Abortion - Pro-choice, and it's worth noting that pro-life is a disgusting misnomer. I believe in Abortion up to the point where you can extract the fetus from the mother and keep it alive by other means, at which point that should be legal at no additional cost to the mother.

Affirmative Action - If a population is economically disadvantaged to that degree, then yes, they should get help. I disagree, however, with using race, sexuality, and the like as a metric if the problems are not inherently bound to those.

Biometric National Identification - Seems like a pretty logical next step to me.

Cloning - 100% supportive. I want this to happen.

Death Penalty - Not as it currently exists. Our forensics are simply not advanced enough.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings - For, given a solid psychological rundown beforehand to rule out temporary insanity.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression - I draw the line at yelling fire in a crowded theater. Almost everything else is on the "OK" side of that.

Genetic Engineering - The way forward. Definitely in favor of.

Gun Control - Against, but I also feel that we really ought to figure out why we're fostering such a culture of fear that people think they need guns to protect themselves.

Homosexual Equality - Might as well ask me what my feelings on Apartheid are.

Drug War - Strongly against, at least for less harmful drugs. The war on drugs is lost, and all it's done is build up groups of people supplying for the black market at a considerable profit.

Mandatory Military Draft - Strongly against.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences - Depends on the crime, really. For murder, sure. Other things it gets a little shakier. But for this to work, laws have to have very clear definitions.

Minimum Drinking Age - For. Parents really shouldn't be able to let small children get access to alcohol, and I know that there are some people who would give that few ****s if the law allowed.

Pass/Fail Grading System - Effort? Wat?

Porn/Adult Entertainment - For. Very very very for. As long as nobody is being exploited and it's all voluntary, then yeah, that's fine.

Prayer in School - Gotta differentiate between letting kids pray in school (free speech) and making kids pray in school (forcing religion upon children). The former is okay; the latter is not.

Premarital Sex - Strongly for. Sexual compatibility rears its ugly head in tons of relationships: if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, and that is really really important. Figuring out if you're compatible with someone before you enter into a "permanent" relationship (or, god forbid, have children!) is really important.

Racial Profiling - For in certain contexts, where the racial correlation is strongly demonstrated and not refutable.

Separation of Church and State - Seriously?

Sex Education in School - Someone's gotta do it.

Violence in Entertainment - Free speech baby.

Women in the military - The 1900s called, they want their attitudes back.

Recessions/Depressions - Depends on what, you know, actually works. In most cases, the government stepping in to create demand solves the problems. It depends on that kind of recession, really.

 

[rvkevin]

Abortion - Pro-choice. I don’t think we have a moral obligation to the fetus until desires have developed. Without a degree in embryology, I would suspect that would require a functional brain and nervous system, which would only apply to late term abortions. For this reason, I am in tentative agreement with current laws banning abortions in the last trimester without extenuating circumstances (i.e. risk to mother’s life).

Affirmative Action – Against. If a group is underrepresented unjustly, I think we should focus on the factors that led to that. For the example of college admissions, I don’t think dropping standards for certain demographics on college applications is a productive solution. I would rather focus on fixing problems in the education system and other socio-economic factors that led to the achievement gaps in the first place.

Biometric National Identification – Against (unless major restrictions), I don’t like the idea of having a national database that the government has unlimited access to. Imagine someone commits a crime and leaves a fingerprint. They run it through the system and it comes back with 10 people that it could fit to. You are one of them. They now have reasonable suspicion to detain you (and pat you down) next time you go through one of the checkpoints. Errors in such databases result in lost civil liberties. Also, the example I gave didn’t even include the prevalence of errors that simply arise from human error from having such a huge database.

Cloning/Stem Cell Research – For.

Death Penalty – Against. I don’t see a benefit to applying the death penalty over life in prison. This would only apply to it being used as a penalty; prisoners should also have the right to be euthanized.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings - For, as long as the appropriate legal groundwork is done to prevent this to be a solution to temporary problems and to prevent someone using this as a defense for homicide.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression – I don’t think any speech should be illegal. That being said, I think that your speech could be used as evidence against you for a crime. For example, harassment would still be illegal even if it is composed of only speech. The speech would be evidence for the charge of harassment and you would be penalized for that charge, rather for any single thing you said. This might be a meaningless distinction; I guess we would then have to discuss the specific laws themselves.

Genetic Engineering – Since it was stating that it would be only be used to fix genetic problems/benefit the thing being modified, I would be for this. The only objection I see would be that the “rich would be the only ones to take advantage of such technology” objection, but I think is a far off concern that may or may not materialize. We will have to evaluate our options if such problems materialize.

Gun Control – Against. The police have no legal responsibility to respond to any given situation, so I think it would be irresponsible to deny someone the right to protect themselves in certain situations. Also, waiting for the police is also not a valid tactic in many situations. Also, I think that it is a valid recreational activity.

Homosexual Equality – For, and losing my patience.

Drug War – Against. Just look at the prisons. We strip search inmates when they enter the facility and after they have contact with people from the outside, yet drugs still end up in prisons. So, in order for drugs to be eliminated from society, we would have to have an even more strict protocol in place than prisons. We would essentially have to live in a prison for this to happen, which is contrary to what a free society is all about.

Mandatory Military Draft – Against. I fully support the conscientious objector. If we don’t have enough people because too many object, then perhaps we should evaluate the reasons we want to have the war in the first place.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences – In theory, I would say that I would be in favor. However, in practice, some of the minimums are way too harsh.

Minimum Drinking Age – For, but I would dramatically lower it from 21.

Pass/Fail Grading System – I can see the merit in this approach. Take Finland for instance. Part of their reformulation of their education system was that they disavowed the notion of grades. They also tend to score high in comparison to other countries. Their success should make us think about the value of tests. Also, there is the Khan Academy approach that doesn’t let students go onto another subject without mastering the current one. This means that a student who gets a C would mean that they would have to re-take the lesson. This approach seems good for skills that involve cumulative learning such as math. I can see how this system would fit into a pass/fail system. The grade is not important; it simply becomes an issue of whether the student has learned the specific subject matter (pass) or not (fail). The problem is that this is not applicable to the traditional classroom setting. It is based on individual lessons via computers so that a class is not held back when one fails a module. I definitely think that these different learning configurations should be investigated.

Porn/Adult Entertainment - For.

Prayer in School – For, as long as it is not a disruption to the teaching and is not endorsed by the institution.

Premarital Sex – For.

Racial Profiling – In practice, people are prone to overestimating how much to consider this factor. For example, let’s assume that there have been 20 people who have targeted airlines. This means that any given person has a 20/7,000,000,000 chance of being a terrorist. Let’s say that those 20 people also happen to be Muslim. This means that any given Muslim has a 20/2,000,000,000 chance of being a terrorist. This probability should hardly raise eyebrows since it is almost the same probability that you had two seconds ago. Since in practice this tends to be drastically overemphasized, I think it would be better to balance the effect by making it a non-factor. However, I don’t know of a solution to diminish the ‘unconscious’ targeting of certain groups so as to take racial profiling out of practice. I can’t think of a valid way to use race as evidence for reasonable suspicion of a crime.

Separation of Church and State – For.

Sex Education in School – Yes, it helps several social problems (i.e. minimizes disease transmission and unplanned pregnancies).

Violence in Entertainment – For.

Women in the Draft- If there is one; yes, equal treatment.

Women in the military – Yes.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds – I see no reason to make this mandatory rather than voluntary.

Recessions/Depressions - The typical answer is to save in periods of growth and to spend the surplus in periods of decline. The problem appears to be that people are not a fan of saving.

Edit:

Net Neutrality - For.

Polygamy - If you can draw a legal contract for it, then by all means. However, it should be noted that contracts with multiple parties become a lot more complicated.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?) - It should be included in the curriculum for any biology class. Omitting it would be academic negligence.

Generated (or otherwise non-harming children) child porn - For.

Jury Nullification (juries have the right to vote not-guilty even when the facts show the defendant broke the law) - For.

 

[Aesir]

So it just dawned on me I didn't have a question on net neutrality, so any of you who have done it if you could add that that would be great. Sorry I did make this in a rush lol.

 

[_Keno_]

Abortion- Depends on how far into pregnancy. Generally pro-choice though.

Affirmative Action- gender, ethnicity, religion etc should not even be on forms for registration for anything, especially work or school.

Biometric National Identification- As much as I would personally hate the idea it, I think it should be implemented.

Cloning- Completely for.

Death Penalty- Very supportive.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- Supportive, depending on mental state of person in question.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression - You should be completely free to express you opinions in either word or art, but I'm a bit iffy on purposely lying in factual matters (news organizations, politics, or like mentioned above, yelling fire in a crowded building when there is no fire).

Genetic Engineering- Completely supportive, this is the future.

Gun Control - For at least better control of guns, if not the abolishment of public use.

Homosexual Equality- Certainly for equality.

Drug War - Hard for me to say, the drug war is terrible, but a legalization for all adults...well...people are generally stupid.

Mandatory Military Draft - Against

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- for

Minimum Drinking Age- for, people are too stupid to be expected to choose correctly is the general rule.

Pass/Fail Grading System- against.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For, as long as they are not in public areas

Prayer in School-certainly should be allowed, but the school should have nothing to do with it (no prayer in the morning announcements etc)

Premarital Sex- Certainly should be allowed

Racial Profiling - Not that anyone can prevent this, but it's more to do with how someone dresses than skin color.

Separation of Church and State - Certainly they should be separated

Sex Education in School - While parents should teach their kids, the general rule being that most people are stupid, schools should definitely teach kids some general sexual education.

Violence in Entertainment- Supportive

Women in the Draft- gender, race etc equality in all

Women in the military- look above

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Not mandatory, but it is a nice option.

Recessions/Depressions- I don't know enough about economics, and apparently nobody else does either.

Net Neutrality- This is a difficult subject for me.

We've also had threads on:

Polygamy
Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)
Generated (or otherwise non-harming children) child porn

Probably a lot more

 

[Aesir]

Abortion- Pro-Choice

Affirmative Action- For

Biometric National Identification- Against

Cloning- For

Death Penalty- Against

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- For

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- For

Genetic Engineering- For, provided it's not privatized

Gun Control- I support gun control measures aimed at stopping criminals from obtaining firearms

Homosexual Equality- For

Drug War- Against

Mandatory Military Draft-Against

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Against

Minimum Drinking Age- For lower it to 18

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For

Prayer in School- For

Premarital Sex- For

Racial Profiling- Against

Separation of Church and State- For

Sex Education in School- For

Violence in Entertainment- For

Women in the Draft- Against because I'm against the draft

Women in the military- For

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- For

Recessions/Depressions- Spend, and cut taxes during depressions/recessions. Cut and raise taxes during booms

Net Neutrality- For

Polygamy- Provided it's not just to push a sexist society I'm okay with it.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)- For

Child Porn- Against children being in porn.

Jury Nullification- Against

 

[GoldShadow]

Abortion- Pro-choice (also, not a fan of the term pro-life, as it implies pro-choicers are anti-life!)

Affirmative Action- For (particularly AA based on socioeconomic factors)

Biometric National Identification- Against

Cloning- For

Death Penalty- Against

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- For (given certain conditions have been fulfilled)

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- For (with a certain, select number of limitations on when and where you may exercise these rights. See: Westboro Baptist Church)

Genetic Engineering- For

Gun Control- I believe citizens should be free to own firearms, however, there ought to be more stringent background checks and a much greater focus on training and safety

Homosexual Equality- For

Drug War- Against (should decriminalize and regulate many drugs that are currently illegal)

Mandatory Military Draft- Against

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Against

Minimum Drinking Age- Needs to be much lower than 21

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against (though individual institutions ought to be free to use it if they wish)

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For (as long as there is no exploitation, and all parties are consenting)

Prayer in School- For (as long as it is not led/initiated/organized by the school. Exception for parochial schools, of course)

Premarital Sex- For

Racial Profiling- Generally against, but for in contexts where there is a demonstrable racial correlation

Separation of Church and State- For

Sex Education in School- For

Violence in Entertainment- For

Women in the Draft- Neutral; if a draft were reinstated, it would probably be because of an active conflict, meaning there would be a greater need for combat personnel, and since, at least in the US, combat personnel are almost entirely male, the need for women in the military would not be as great to begin with. That said, I am by no means against women in the draft.

Women in the military- For

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against (but it should be an option)

Recessions/Depressions- Spend

Net Neutrality- For

Polygamy- Neutral; generally not a fan, as it often tends to exploit and marginalize women, but if 3+ people can come up with a reasonable agreement, let them live as they wish

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)- For; if a biology class does not teach evolution, the school's accreditation ought to be reviewed (and at worst, revoked)

Child Porn- Against all forms

 

[Sucumbio]

Abortion- Pro-choice

Affirmative Action- For

Biometric National Identification- For

Cloning- For

Death Penalty- Against

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- For

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- For

Genetic Engineering- For

Gun Control- For

Homosexual Equality- For

Drug War- For

Mandatory Military Draft- Against

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- For

Minimum Drinking Age- For

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against

Porn/Adult Entertainment- The Internet is for Porn

Prayer in School- Against

Premarital Sex- Yes please

Racial Profiling- Against

Separation of Church and State- For

Sex Education in School- For

Violence in Entertainment- For

Women in the Draft- For

Women in the military- For

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against

Recessions/Depressions- Save yo money, cut back on expenses

Net Neutrality- For

Polygamy- Against

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class- For (public school) Against (private school)

Child Porn- Against it in all forms including animated

 

[Dre89]

This should have really been posted in the Proving Grounds. Also I'm surprised there's no God/religion question and no conservative vs liberal question.

Abortion- Pro-life. But I'm not really emotionally attached to the issue. To me there's no non-arbitrary distinction between a fetus and a born baby, yet I'm much more emotionally attached to the killing of a born baby.

Affirmative Action- For.

Biometric National Identification- N/A

Cloning- For.

Death Penalty- For, unless in the case where the facility doesn't have the resources to contain the person or sustain their existence, which isn't normally an issue in developed countries these days.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- I have a peculiar take on this. I think it should be illegal, as to not create a slipper slope and so that we're not arbitrarily deciding who has a right to suicide and who doesn't, but I don't think it is immoral to euthanise someone behind closed doors for their own good.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- For, with restrictions such as public misconduct etc. Basically the freedom to express and hold any belief in a civil manner.

Genetic Engineering- For.

Gun Control- Not sure. America, which a notoriously trigger-happy country, averages something like 11 000 gun deaths a year, with the second highest country being in the early hundreds. Perhaps simply having tighter restrictions on who can attain a gun would be the best solutuion.

Homosexual Equality- For.

Drug War- Against.

Mandatory Military Draft- Against.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- For.

Minimum Drinking Age- Against. I don't agree with our current system which empowers people through age. I think people should pass certain tests of maturity or initiations to receive privelagges such as a driving licence, drinking rights etc. regardless of age.

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For.

Prayer in School- For in religious schoos. Not for it in public schools where everyone is made to do it.

Premarital Sex- For.

Racial Profiling- For.

Separation of Church and State- For.

Sex Education in School- For.

Violence in Entertainment- For.

Women in the Draft- For.

Women in the military- For.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against.

Recessions/Depressions- N/A

Net Neutrality- N/A.

Polygamy- For, as long as the legal situation can be sorted out.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)-For.

Child Porn- For, but only the animated variety, or any variety that doesn't involve real children.

 

[rvkevin]

Also I'm surprised there's no God/religion question and no conservative vs liberal question.

Feel free to add to the list. I added one on about Jury Nullification, but it didn't catch on.

 

[Aesir]

God is boring that's probably why i didn't add one. Sorry if anyone actually has fun in those debates I just don't see the point. and Jury Nullification is like a pretty deep Legal question, so I didn't add it because I don't think the average DHer is going to really care enough to have a debate about it.

I'm surprised to see how liberal Dre is.

 

[Dre89]

Feel free to add to the list. I added one on about Jury Nullification, but it didn't catch on.

I just copy pasted the OP, which is what I'm guessing everyone else wil ldo too, which is why I didn't see your addition.

Aesir- Yeah I've changed a lot. My friends don't seem to really notice except for the fact that they're excited at the prospect that I have no hang ups about losing my virginity now.

 

[Aesir]

Maybe some day when I feel like it we can have an abortion debate, though I hate debating that topic.

 

[Sucumbio]

I just realized I misread the question on Evolution in the classroom. Ironically I read it as mandatory teaching of creationism (I wonder if there's a phenomenon for so grossly misreading something as to think you've read the exact opposite). My OP is fixed but just to clarify I am FOR the mandatory teaching of evolution in public school science classrooms.

 

[Aesir]

I'll edit the first post this weekened to reflect more questions.

 

[SuperBowser]

Been busy lately.

Abortion - Pro-Choice.

Affirmative Action - For. I'd like to see more statistics but I'm particularly for socio-economic factors being considered.

Biometric National Identification - Against.

Cloning - For.

Death Penalty - Against.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings - For. With strict regulations.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression - For.

Genetic Engineering - For. With strict regulations.

Gun Control - For.

Homosexual Equality - For.

Drug War - Against. I'm against illicit drug use, but it's clear our current strategy is a total flop and we are doing more harm than good.

Mandatory Military Draft - Against.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences - For.

Minimum Drinking Age - 18.

Pass/Fail Grading System - Don't know. Would have to read more about the subject but it doesn't seem a bad system to me. My past 6 years of university have basically been a pass/fail system.

Porn/Adult Entertainment - For.

Prayer in School - People should be allowed to pray of their own accord. However I'm against school-run prayers.

Premarital Sex - For.

Racial Profiling - Against. Having been on the negative side of this, I guess I'm biased. I can only say I don't like it. It makes me feel unwelcome.

Separation of Church and State - For.

Sex Education in School - For. At what age and how much should be taught might be more interesting.

Violence in Entertainment - For.

Women in the Draft - I'm against the draft.

Women in the military - For.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds - Against. I think it would be good to encourage or introduce as part of a school curriculum though.

Recessions/Depressions - Don't know.

Net Neutrality - For.

Polygamy - Neutral. Legal problems need to be considered first. Polygamy is historically associated with sexist societies but I'd assume that is not a problem here.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?) - For

Child Porn - I think cartoons should be legal.

 

[Nicholas1024]

Heh, a lot of these are tricky topics for me, because although there's things I definitely disagree with on moral grounds and in an ideal world nobody would use them, it's just not the government's place to ban them.

Abortion: Pro-life, obviously. I think if you can detect a heartbeat and brainwaves, that's enough for it to qualify as being alive.

Affirmative action: Against. If they're on legally equal footing, then I trust the minorities are skilled enough to make their own businesses. (For instance, even in the civil war south, if you set everyone free, a black business could definitely succeed with only black customers, even if no white person would have entered.)

Biometric National Identification: Against. That just offers way too many possibilities for abuse.

Cloning: Don't know enough about the issue, pass.

Death Penalty: Hm, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable, but if implemented it should be very seldom used.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- You definitely don't kill them unless the agree with it, and most of the time not even then. If there's no hope of recovery and all they might do is suffer, then you could argue for it, but otherwise I'm against this.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- You have the right to express yourself, but if you do so in inappropriate ways, then there can definitely be consequences.

Genetic Engineering- Don't really see any problem with this.

Gun Control- Against.

Homosexual Equality- Although I definitely believe homosexuality is a sin, discriminating legally against them is not the right way to approach the issue.

Drug War- Let's face it, banning drugs is good in theory, but near impossible in practice. Although I definitely support any anti-drug actions, a new approach is needed.

Mandatory Military Draft- No. Just no.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Eh, against.

Minimum Drinking Age- Definitely for. Although I'm usually against government intervention, do we really want children with alcohol?

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against, how exactly to you quantify effort? People would just pretend to work while secretly daydreaming to pass every class.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- Much like the homosexuality issue, although I'm against pornography in any form, it's completely impractical to get government to ban it.

Prayer in School- For, definitely.

Premarital Sex- Against. However, although there's more chance of enforcing this than other similar topics, I still think a government ban isn't the best way to approach the issue. For these sorts of things the only way to "convict" the party in question is to reach out to their conscience and convince them that it's wrong. (Anyone want to bet BPC is preparing to blast this statement?)

Racial Profiling- Can we all agree this is a spectacularly bad idea?

Separation of Church and State- For. Even if it was a Christian government, it wouldn't really stay that way for long. (See: The crusades)

Sex Education in School- Against, that should be a topic for the parents to cover.

Violence in Entertainment- Not the government's place to ban it, although I do wish Hollywood would tone down the cursing somewhat.

Women in the Draft- Against the draft, so against this to.

Women in the military- Well, I don't really see why you wouldn't allow them.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against.

Recessions/Depressions- Let the economy fix itself. Inflation is like alcohol, it removes the hangover for the short term, but you're just storing up more trouble for yourself later.

Net Neutrality- I'll read up on this another time.

Polygamy- One more time, against on principle, but not something for the government to ban.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?) The government should not decide the curriculum of private schools, period. Regarding public schools, I don't mind if they teach both sides of the issue. That is to say, have one person teach the evolutionist side, and another one teach the creationist viewpoint. If the evidence is so clearly overwhelming in favor of evolution as most of you believe, surely that will shine through.

Child Porn- Like I said, I'm against pornography in any form, and that would go double for this. However, here it is justifiable to get the government to punish someone forcing a kid to engage in this.

 

[Holder of the Heel]

Abortion- Pro-choice

Affirmative Action- Against, to me it is just another form of discrimination.

Biometric National Identification- Against, for on the wikipedia page it shows ways of it having the potential to be taken advantage of. It does not seem necessary enough to justify.

Cloning- For, I see no reason against it.

Death Penalty- Against

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- I think people should be allowed to decide when they die, so for.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- AGAINST!!!! Haha just kidding, this is definitely the way to go, for. ^^


Genetic Engineering- I see no real reason as to why it shouldn't happen, for.

Gun Control- For

Homosexual Equality- For, no two ways about it.

Drug War- Against, it would solve a lot of problems, save time, money, and effort, and allow people to do what they want, even if it is self-damaging. Just like with cigarettes.

Mandatory Military Draft- Against, I do not see how enforcing this is a good idea.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Against I guess, it seems a bit arbitrary considering each case is looked at individually anyhow.

Minimum Drinking Age- This may seem inconsistent with my drug war response, but referring back to my abortion response, I feel as if with alcohol the situation gains order from having a minimum drinking age. Otherwise, I'd be against, but in this case I am for.

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For, I don't feel as if we should be allowed to tell people they can't do this. It can cause problems to people, but that is up to the individual.

Prayer in School- For, though as been said by others, they shouldn't be school-run prayers.

Premarital Sex- For, it could only have religion counts against it.

Racial Profiling- Against, profiling against areas because of the activity on the otherhand is right.

Separation of Church and State- Should be separated.

Sex Education in School- For I guess.

Violence in Entertainment- For.

Women in the Draft- Well I don't require anyone, so against.

Women in the military- They should be allowed.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against I suppose, however, being introduced somehow as mentioned before is not a bad idea.

Recessions/Depressions- Cut.

Net Neutrality- Whoa, not sure. Perhaps I shall update this.

Polygamy- For.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class- For.

Child Porn- Against if children are harmed.

 

[Okuser]

Abortion- Pro-life. A woman has the right to determine what she wants to do with her body, but in the situation of pregnancy the rights of the unborn child must also be considered.

Affirmative Action- Against. Although I do believe in equal opportunity in education, state aid should be determined by the parents economic status not by race...

Biometric National Identification- Against. This is a form of biopolitics, as described by Foucault, and is an attempt by the state to control the population and is a violation of individual liberty and human dignity.

Cloning- Pro cloning for the sake of spawning humans but if "research" is involved then it is a violation of the cloned humans rights since social experiments will probably be conducted against their will for a large portion of the persons life.

Death Penalty- For. If a strict set of procedures are set to determine the persons guilt, no reason to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to house people, waiting for them to die.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- If a psychologist determines that the person is in a "healthy" state (not depressed, effected by medication) of mind then the individual should have a right to do with their body as they please.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- For. Very for individual liberty in almost all forms.

Genetic Engineering- For

Gun Control- Against. Law-Abiding citizens have a god given right to defend themselves, their families and their property from threats. The 2nd amendment and 1st amendments are the two most important amendments regarding the freedom of the people and they both very clearly outline our rights. I'm also pro Castle-doctrine and the right to carry.

Homosexual Equality- The nuclear family is the superior way to raise a child. for gay marriage, against gay adoption.

Drug War- Against the war on drugs in all forms.

Mandatory Military Draft- Against.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Against. Each individual case is unique and requires separate verdicts.

Minimum Drinking Age- Should be 18, arguably 19 so that high school seniors can't access alcohol for peers.

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against. It's an outdated system.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For!!!!!

Prayer in School- The State has no right to prohibit prayer in schools.

Premarital Sex- For.

Racial Profiling- For. It is not racist to say that you are more likely to be robbed or murdered by a black person in the United States it's a fact. These types of discussions are RACIAL, not RACIST, and the common person can't understand this distinction making this issue a social taboo.

Separation of Church and State- Abstain. I've been wrestling with this for a while.

Sex Education in School- Sex education in schools needs to include more practical information other than just telling kids that abstinence is the only way.

Violence in Entertainment- For all forms of freedom of expression.

Women in the Draft- IF there is a draft then some women should be included too for certain jobs, but men are superior in combat meaning mostly men would be recruited anyway.

Women in the military- Women shouldn't be allowed to be on the front lines but can have desk jobs, maintenance, be pilots etc.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- No, huge violation of personal liberty

Recessions/Depressions- Cut spending, specifically by dismantling government bureaucracies, un-constitutional government programs and removing taxes such as the income tax.

Net Neutrality- For. Freedom of speech and freedom of expression should be extended to include the internet.

Polygamy- Against.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class - In public schools evolution and intelligent design should both be taught.

Child Porn- Against all forms.

 

[GwJ]

Abortion- Pro-Choice

Affirmative Action- Undecided

Biometric National Identification- For

Cloning- For

Death Penalty- For

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- For

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- For

Genetic Engineering- For

Gun Control- For

Homosexual Equality- For

Drug War- Against

Mandatory Military Draft- Against

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Against

Minimum Drinking Age- For

Pass/Fail Grading System- Against

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For

Prayer in School- For

Premarital Sex- For

Racial Profiling- Against

Separation of Church and State- For

Sex Education in School- For

Violence in Entertainment- For

Women in the Draft- Against (Since I'm against mandatory drafts)

Women in the military- For

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against

Recessions/Depressions- Undecided (Don't know enough on the subject to answer)

Net Neutrality- For

Polygamy- Undecided (I don't know the effects polygamy has on society and people)

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?) For (Treat is just as you would teaching chemistry)

Child Porn- Against. I think there's an age when a person can make a decision to do it, but since we have an age of "legality" for our minors, the best spot to place that marker is at the age of legality, 18 in the US for example.

 

[Blue Ninjakoopa]

The issue is in bold, and my corresponding position is underlined.
Abortion: Unabashedly pro-life. Though not a fervent activist for the abolition of this practice, I do believe that life begins at conception and that adoption is a much more viable option.

Affirmative Action: Against. I'm a minority, and I don't want the government tipping the scales in my favor (I happen to find that insulting, especially to the idea of independence). My own credentials need to be sufficient on their own, and I believe every other minority can do just as well or as poorly as any white American. I only support Affirmative Action to the extent that it reversed Woodrow Wilson's black codes implemented in the late Progressive Era, but it achieved its intended goal before Nixon left office.

Biometric National Identification: I need to do a lot more research on this topic before forming a solid opinion, but I'm leaning towards opposing it because a human being's body is his or her property and shouldn't be registered with the state without permission.

Cloning: As with Biometrics, I need to do research before I establish a viewpoint. Neutral leaning towards support for animals and consenting human beings.

Death Penalty: I am against the death penalty because I don't believe the state should have the power to take a person's life. The cost of capital punishment far outweighs the cost of lethal injection, and other methods are too primitive (stoning), indecent (electric chair), or overly and unnecessarily violent (firing squad). I use those adjectives because of the likelihood of death row inmates actually being innocent, however small.

Euthanasia: I'm against it unless it's explicitly requested. If they're incapable of speech, then they should be kept alive until they die naturally.

Freedom of Speech/Expression: 100% for. In the words of Ron Paul, "We don't have the First Amendment so we can talk about the weather. We have the First Amendment so we can say very controversial things." Keep in mind that "controversial" doesn't always mean it's intended to incite violence or mislead, circumstances under which speech can and should be punished/used against the perpetrator in some way.

Genetic Engineering: As far as food is concerned (to be fair, it's pretty much the only thing concerned), I'm for genetic engineering/modification. Empirical research has proven time and time and time again that GMOs are safer, overall better alternatives to natural organisms (example: reduction in pesticide use). No, Monsanto didn't pay me to type that. The Koch Brothers didn't either.

Gun Control: I'm 100% against any form of gun control. Firearms are the most efficient means of protecting oneself from harm to their life and/or property, and restricting access to certain kinds of firearms only ups violence and victimhood. Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston are examples of gigantic gun control failure.

Homosexual Equality (Gay Rights): I support gay marriage. On the whole though, I don't think the government should be so involved as to require licensing for marriage between any two consenting adults.

Drug War: I strongly oppose the drug war. It's a failure, because after over 30 years, drug addiction is still a huge issue (about as big as it was when the drug war began) and the only result is a bloated state. When the government wages a "war" on anything, it creates more of that thing, and without even solving the problem at hand, grows to immense proportions.

Military Draft: I oppose the draft, because... well, Senator Robert Taft said it best almost 74 years ago: “A compulsory draft is far more typical of totalitarian nations than of democratic nations. The theory behind it leads directly to totalitarianism. it is absolutely opposed to the principles of individual liberty which have always been considered a part of American democracy.”

Minimum Sentencing: I oppose for petty crimes (minor theft, vandalism, etc.), as fees and/or "community" service are sufficient. I put "community" in quotes because when a person commits a crime that doesn't affect everyone around him or her (or more specifically, just one or a few people), he or she shouldn't owe society. That's mob rule. It's better that this person owes the people/person he or she directly offended or perhaps even the state. (Take graffiti for example: a punk vandalizes a person's car, yard, and house, so his or her punishment should be to undo that vandalism in the presence or under surveillance of the government).

Minimum Drinking Age: I'm opposed, if only because it doesn't actually stop minors from drinking. As long as it's not forced onto a child, or explicitly endangering a person's life, I don't care who's drinking. I'll do my best, however, to promote responsible drinking whenever I can.

Pass/Fail Grading System: Hm, I would be against grades being based purely on effort. If it's wrong, but there was effort, then it's still wrong.

Pornography: I'm for it, if only because banning or restricting it does absolutely nothing.

Prayer in School: I'm for prayer not only in school, but in any public location. As long as it's not being forced or violating anyone's property rights, I'm fine with it.

Premarital Sex: Yeah. Two consenting adults engaging in sex before marriage is not a problem, and shouldn't ever be classified as one by the state.

Racial Profiling: The state, under the Civil Rights Act, must treat everyone equally, disregarding race. So I'm against it, especially because there's never a link between a reduction in crime and discrimination-based police procedures like Stop-and-Frisk.

Separation of Church and State: Sharia law is an example of mixing religion and government (called theocracy), so I'm 100% for it. Even if I trust literally every other religion infinitely more than Islam, adding government to the concoction is always, always bad news.

Sex Ed in School: Kind of against, because I feel it's the responsibility of the parents to teach their children about sex. I don't know about any of you, but if I had any kids, I'd hate to find out that they learned anything about sex before I told them, from classes in school of all places.

Violence in Entertainment: For. Censorship does nothing; if you don't want your kids to see anything with heavy language, violence, nudity, etc., then implement some parental controls. No one else should suffer just because you don't want to control the content your kids are exposed to.

Women in the Draft: I'm equally against the draft for women. Voluntarism for the win.

Women in the Military: I don't see why not. Women are just as capable as men.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year-olds: Mandatory? No.

Recessions/Depressions: Cutting is generally the better answer, especially for taxes and spending. The more government spending crowds out private sector growth by hogging the GDP, the worse off economies become. These measures normally cause depressions in the first place, and in the midst of recessions/depressions, can extend their duration.

Net neutrality: Against. Private internet providers should be able to treat data how they want to. I still need to do more research on this topic, so take my position with a grain of salt.

Polygamy: I don't care who you marry, or how many people you marry.

Mandatory Teaching of Evolution in Schools: I'm against having it forced onto private schools, especially private religious schools (which many are) (that blatantly violates the 1st Amendment). As for public schools, it should be left up to local administrations. I don't think theories like Evolution or the Big Bang should be part of the curriculum without it being known that they're theories, and not accepted fact.

Child Pornography: Against. It's difficult for me to pull the "consent" card here because children and sexual acts should never be coupled, like ever. I'd like to think that all child porn involving very young children (pre-teens, first graders, toddlers) is done against the will of the child in question, which makes it wrong automatically. But what if a child "consents" with the adult, or with another child? I shiver at the thought, and I think the answer to that question is to establish (without any use of force), over time, a culture wherein everyone voluntarily rejects sex until 18 years of age. That ensures that all child porn thereon, if any, is forced, and punished accordingly.

 

[Sparklepower]

Abortion- I don't really identify with either of these binary labels. I generally think having an abortion is an unethical, but I think that making it illegal would be more trouble than it's worth to make illegal due to the black markets it creates, the endangerment of back alley abortions, and making our already terrible foster care system even worse by giving it more children. I'm for legal abortion, but against it ethically.

Affirmative Action- Yes, but not based off of race, gender, etc.

Biometric National Identification- Maybe if identity theft weren't such an issue, but as of now I think it's fairly unsustainable.

Cloning- Absolutely, as long as nobody is hurt in the process.

Death Penalty- Against. We should take these criminals and give them life in prison doing the work that chinese sweatshop workers have to do. That would be productive and more of a punishment anyway.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- If it can be confirmed they are of sound mind, then yes it should be allowed.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- Except for some situations such as the infamous "yelling bomb on an airplane" it should be allowed.

Genetic Engineering- Yes, again, as long as nobody is hurt in the process.

Gun Control- I don't really see how most gun regulation controls would help reduce murders (not just gun related murders) but if someone were to show me a policy that would without a doubt reduce gun violence I would be for it as long as it doesn't too harshly infringe people's second amendment right.

Homosexual Equality- For. The only arguments against are religious stigma.

Drug War- I definitely think some action should be taken, although how much and what kind I'm unclear on. I also generally think we need to heavily consider what drugs we make illegal or not, as currently some banned drugs just have no good reason to be banned (Marijuana and LSD come to mind).

Mandatory Military Draft- Only in war, and both genders should be considered.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Against. I generally trust our justice system to make the right decisions in sentence time. I think minimum sentences are a bit redundant and unneeded.

Minimum Drinking Age- For-ish. I definitely think there should be control on what people should be allowed to purchase alcohol. I'm not sure if age is the best way to decide this, but I can't think of a better and/or sustainable way to do this.

Pass/Fail Grading System- I generally think our education system needs some serious redesigning, and I think some research should be done on the effectiveness of Pass/Fail.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- Yes, assuming all parties are legally consenting.

Prayer in School- They should be allowed to pray, but nothing should be mandatory to participate, or even be in the vicinity of.

Premarital Sex- For. The only arguments against are religious stigma. Exclusively post-marital sex made sense back in a time where everyone was married by 18, but now most marriages happen in people's late 20's where it's unhealthy to hold sexual desires for that long.

Racial Profiling- Against, there's nothing to gain from profiling someone purely based on their race.

Separation of Church and State- Absolutely for. Religion has no place in our government.

Sex Education in School- For. I personally think the idea that children for whatever reason "aren't prepared to know about sex" is just silly. If you explain it properly, a child of any age can understand sex without getting themselves in any danger.

Violence in Entertainment- I'm not against censorship of any kind. Technology has advanced enough where it's very simple for parents to monitor and block their kids from being able to view content they deem obscene.

Women in the Draft- If there is a draft, women should also be considered in it.

Women in the military- Obviously since I support the draft for women, I support them being in the military too.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against. Nobody should be forced to do labor for free unless they're criminals.

Recessions/Depressions- I think it's highly situational. Get our best economists to identify the causes and the best course of action based on that.

Net Neutrality- For. The idea that a company can pay a service provider for more bandwith brings nothing but monopolies.

Polygamy- I'm personally wouldn't do it myself, but people have a right to live their lives however they like. Any argument against that is just religious stigma.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?) For. At the very least these schools should be required to present the a reasonable amount of the huge collection of evidence we have for it, and the conclusions that scientists have made off of that evidence. I don't like the idea that facts are kept away from children just because they were born into a wealthy religious home who decided to send them to private school.

Child Porn- Against. Although illustrated child pornography (lolita and whatnot) should be perfectly legal.

 

[#HBC | Dark Horse]

Abortion- Pro-choice

Biometric National Identification- For

Cloning- For

Death Penalty- Against

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- For

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- Against. Hitler so kawaii <3

Genetic Engineering- For

Gun Control- For america, Against. I heavily doubt it'll make that much of a difference, and guns are such a fixture of america that I doubt we'll see it work as well as, say england.

Homosexual Equality- Flr

Drug War- Against. See: Drug War

Mandatory Military Draft- Against

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Against

Minimum Drinking Age- For

Pass/Fail Grading System- I like gold stars

Porn/Adult Entertainment- For

Prayer in School- For

Premarital Sex- For

Racial Profiling- Against

Separation of Church and State- For

Sex Education in School- For. Abstinence does jack.

Violence in Entertainment- For

Women in the military- For

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against

Net Neutrality- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality

Polygamy- For

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)- For, for, for. No excuses

 

[FirestormNeos]

Wow, you're really throwing EVERYTHING on the table. Alrighty then...

Abortion- Our country's happyness is already non-existent enough?

Affirmative Action- Catch 22.

Biometric National Identification- might help with medical stuff I guess.

Cloning- If we have the money, go for it.

Death Penalty- Only as a last resort. Perhaps best suited for people known for breaking out of prisons.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- They don't want to live, there's nothing we can do to stop 'em.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- Keep it. Good idea. Not our attitude about it though. Seriously, there too many terrible comedians who defend their unfunny routines under the false label of "satire."

Genetic Engineering- we can do that?

Gun Control- If this is about the whole Aurora thing that happened over a year ago and the countless similar incidents following it, then that would have more to do with the country's crumbling mental health care/attitude about it.

Homosexual Equality- Can't Stop the Clock.

Drug War- Probably bigger fish to fry, but who am I to decide what the police should go after?

Mandatory Military Draft- NOPE.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- I can think of a few crimes that would require this.

Minimum Drinking Age- Keep it.

Pass/Fail Grading System- Need more information.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- Movies, books, live shows, magazines, etc. which include adults performing sex acts or other explicit material.

Watch it, make it (with consent of the actors/actresses of course)

Prayer in School- How about we allow it, but only at the beginning of class? Would that work?

Premarital Sex- Las Vegas isn't going to care.

Racial Profiling- It's what the criminals think we're going to do. Get the best of 'em by, well... not doing it.

Separation of Church and State- Lemme tell you 'bout this book I'm reading called The Crucible.

Sex Education in School- Better then anything they'd hear out on the streets.

Violence in Entertainment- When it's done right, it's a very effective tool in art.

Women in the Draft- The draft sounds like it has something to do with the military. I don't think that kind of thing should be required.

Women in the military- YES

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds-
>Mandatory
>"and the government gives you a free ride through college."

These sound conflicting.

Recessions/Depressions- spend on what exactly?

Net Neutrality- What does xfinity have against smashboards?

Polygamy- They all wanna be together? I ain't stoppin' 'em.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)- If the kids want jobs in scientific fields (especially biological and any other work that requires knowledge of evolution), then teach 'em. If they want to remain loyal to their religion, guess we need not bother. If both, tell them they need to pick their poison.

Child Porn- I think why this conversation exists is because people keep running into is the whole "what about teenagers in cartoons" deal. As a teenager myself, it would be very uncomfortable seeing someone in my age naked in the middle of my merry stroll through the internetz. However, teenagers in cartoons end up being such a split down the middle subject I'm just going to keep an open mind and wait for society to decide on it's own.

 

[Meta-Kraid]

Whoa this could take a while...
Abortion- Pro-life. You have no right to kill a human being, I believe that life starts at the moment of conception. And of course the Bible supports this (not sure of the exact verse, but I do know that there was a law in the OT about if a baby is killed while the mother is pregnant).

Affirmative Action- honestly I have no idea where I stand on this.

Biometric National Identification- Optional

Cloning- This is a tough subject for me. Is a soul provided to a clone? Most likely yes, but I think the only way life should be started is naturally. My opinion may change, but I see no reason for it now.

Death Penalty- Life is such a precious thing, that killing should be a last resort.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- See above.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- just keep explicit images out of art, please? I'm tired of seeing those whenever I'm looking at references for human proportions.

Genetic Engineering- I'm all for it, it's a little silly to change certain things, but oh well.

Gun Control- No thanks. Guns don't kill people. People will find ways to kill others no matter what. Gun control won't stop a criminal from purchasing one illegally.

Homosexual Equality- Rights: the idea that all men and women should be treated equally under the law. That meaning has change recently, just because I don't agree with someone doesn't mean they aren't human. Does lying, cheating, etc. effect your human status?

Drug War- Unlike guns, drugs can cause no benefit, so they should be illegal.

Mandatory Military Draft- I don't think it should be required, but I haven't thought much about this.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- This is extremely broad

Minimum Drinking Age- I think it should require a minimum age, but people may need to be tested to see if they should wait till a later age

Pass/Fail Grading System- Quality, almost anyone can get their grade s up with enough effort

Porn/Adult Entertainment- That's immoral and it shouldn't be put in movies or similar things

Prayer in School- It's discrimination to not let people pray at any time, and it would offend any religious people to ban prayer

Premarital Sex- Save sex for marriage

Racial Profiling- It should depend more on the area (for example one race may have more murderers, but most of them probably come from specific areas, and in those areas, almost anyone would be influenced the same way).

Separation of Church and State- Keep them together, in some way, but in others separate them. When governments try to serve it can, and usually, ends up making things worse than before with the regulations.

Sex Education in School- Sex ed is something parents need to teach their kids

Violence in Entertainment- Depends on how bad, I haven't given it much thought

Women in the Draft- No

Women in the military- Yes

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Service should be character organized, not organized by the government

Recessions/Depressions- This topic is so complex, I don't know how to feel about it. Sadly most people would have to lose their jobs for the greater good.

Net Neutrality- I have absolutely no idea how to feel about this.

Polygamy- This isn't what marriage was meant to be.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class: Taught along side intelligent design, with separate teachers, so that a single teacher doesn't gloss over one. The evidence for both should be provided. I believe in micro-evolution, there is Biblical evidence for it and it matches up well. Neither atheists or theists have all the answers.

Child Porn- I'm against porn in the first place, children make it even worse. It's disgusting and pedophelic.

 

[Sehnsucht]

Cool thread. I suppose I might as well give it a shot (collapsed for tidiness):

[collapse=On Stuff]
Abortion
--For (or Pro-Choice), inasmuch as abortion should be legal and accessible, if abortive procedures are deemed necessary or advisable by the pregnant woman and/or medical professionals.

Affirmative Action
--Against. There should be equal opportunity for any and all groups, regardless of cosmetic makeup. If a group is a minority, and the playing field isn't level with them, it would be preferable to work toward including them, but not to the point where there is a disproportionate imbalance in the other direction.

Biometric National Identification
--Undecided. I'd need to look into it more, so as to see what the potential uses of BI are, whether it can be regulated (and if so, how, and whether it even should), and so on.

Cloning
--For. There are no downsides to cloning organs and tissues and whatnot (unless you have misgivings about embryonic stem cells as the required substance for cloning, in which case I don't have any). I see no issues with full-out human cloning, either, unless you deny them the rights and privileges that come with personhood (for human clones would certainly, or at least conceivably, be persons).

Death Penalty
--Against. All other methods for dealing with the criminal in question should be exhausted before considering execution, even in the case of the most heinous crimes (e.g. rehabilitation, community service, imprisonment and labour, etc.). I suspect that we have a ways to go in terms of dealing with criminals -- both in examining the root causes of crime (and dealing with those root factors), and in advancing means to rehabilitate criminals (especially if they have mental illnesses or disorders, like sociopathy, personality disorders, etc.).

Euthanasia
--For. There's no valid reason to prevent someone who, of a sober and sound mind, wishes to end prolonged suffering due to terminal or incurable medical conditions. I'd even say that a person of a sober and sound mind would have grounds to end their life at any time, whether the context be medical or not (people experiencing depression, or other conditions that lead to suicidal thoughts and impulses, don't respond to those criteria, and should seek professional help).

Freedom of Speech & Expression
--For. There's no valid reason to inhibit freedom of speech and expression, even if the message is something one doesn't want to hear (because you can say whatever you want, but no one is obligated to listen to you, or give you the time of day).

Genetic Engineering
--For. Genetic engineering is a neutral, amoral notion. The only bad that can come out of it is when people employ it for ill intent (in which cause blame lies with these people, and not with genetic engineering). And the good that could come of these processes is great, so it's an avenue worth pursuing (and not worth stifling).

Gun Control
--Undecided. Ideally, a person should be able to have access to arms and even carry them in public, if they deem it necessary. IMO, it would be preferable that the person knows how to use their weapon(s) so as to minimize unintended harm if used, but even if that ideal isn't met, misuse of weapons would be the fault of the person, and not the lack of gun control. Yet a certain degree of reasonable regulation for the accessibility of firearms might be a good idea as well (e.g. not selling firearms to minors).

Homosexual Equality
--For. There's no valid reason to deny any group (LGBT or otherwise) the rights and privileges proper to any other citizen (which includes government-recognized marriages, and the benefits and constraints belonging to such unions).

Drug War
--I'd say Against. Prohibition of drugs seems like a bad idea, since people are going to seek out their poison whether it's legal or not. Perhaps the ideal scenario would be to treat all drugs as you would alcohol -- legal, taxed, regulated, decriminalized (so you can't be arrested for mere possession of a given substance, for instance), have a minimum-legal age for buying drugs, and encourage moderation and responsible use as you would for alcohol.
Mandatory Military Draft
--Against. Any service toward government should be voluntary. I'd also say that military service in times of war should be voluntary as well; if your nation is in legitimate danger, then surely there will be

Mandatory Minimum Sentences
--I'd say For, if mandatory minimum sentences can serve as an apt deterrent for crimes. Though of course, this mandatory sentencing should only apply for crimes where it makes sense for this clause to be enforced. And if there are no crimes to which such a clause can reasonably apply, then there shouldn't be mandatory sentencing (and nor if it doesn't in fact provide an effective deterrent).
Minimum Drinking Age
--For. Legal impositions will not deter youth from acquiring and consuming alcohol (since they presently don't anyway), but putting an age limit for the legal purchase of alcohol is a sensible idea.
Pass-Fail Grading System
--Against. Is this Pass-Fail system actually a thing? A system based solely on effort will do nothing to show whether a student learns or retains anything in the classroom. Effort is a desirable quality to foster, to be sure, but actually understanding and retaining academic subjects, among other skills, are equally as important.

Porn & Adult Entertainment
--For, in that I don't oppose the existence of pornographic materials, and see no reason to ban the practice of it.
Prayer In School
--I'm Against mandatory prayer in public school. A student should be able to pray, or engage in any religious or spiritual act of observance or ritual, only so long as it doesn't impede or interfere with actual class time and the unfolding of school business (i.e. pray during breaks, recess, or lunch, if you wish). For private schooling, you can set the terms of (a)religious activity however you wish.

Premarital Sex
--For. You could abstain from premarital sex for whatever reason(s) you wish, but there should be no obstacle, legal or otherwise, for those who wish to pursue such activities.

Racial Profiling
--Against. Profiling for cosmetic reasons (race, sex, clothing, etc.) seems highly ineffective, since anyone from any group could commit a crime. If you must profile, do so using more valid and substantive metrics (e.g. criminal correlation by region instead of by race, etc.).

Separation of Church and State
--For. Separation of Church and State is an expression of Freedom of Religion. Religious favouritism (and favouritism toward non-religion) by government serves only to marginalized all other groups.

Sex Ed
--For. It seems self-evident to me that youth should be accurately and comprehensively educated on the various facets pertaining to matters of sex (including anatomy and biology, contraceptive methods, sexual crimes and the importance of consent, relationship dynamics, child-rearing, sexual mores, and whatever else).

Violence in Entertainment
--For, in that violence in entertainment media shouldn't be censored. This wouldn't stop tasteless or ill-conceived depictions of violence, but the more efficient solution to discourage such products is simply to not support them.

Women in Draft
--If it's a mandatory draft, then I'd be Against; if it's a voluntary one, then I'd be For.
Women in Military
--For. Any and all groups should have the opportunity to join and serve in the military.

Mandatory Community Service
--Against. This sounds like a good voluntary arrangement -- serve the government for two years, government gets you into post-secondary education -- but to make it mandatory wouldn't be desirable, especially since post-secondary should be optional.

Recession/Depression (Cut or Spend)
--Undecided. I'm woefully uneducated in matters of economy (Canadian or otherwise). I'm not actually sure what the precise definitions of Recession and Depression are. XD

Net Neutrality
--For. ISPs remaining neutral in the treatment and subsequent charging of data access and use is for the best, as its absence can quickly lead to exploitation by content and service providers.

Polygamy
--Undecided, leaning toward For. If more than two partners have an equal and reciprocal desire for union, then there doesn't seem any real reason to prevent such a voluntary union. That there may be inherent issues in multiple partners (re: relaltional dynamics) doesn't seem a reason to outlaw the practice. And there could be legal complications arising with polygamous unions, but if so, there may be solutions for the reasonable legal handling of such issues as home ownership, divorce, insurance, benefits, death, and so on.

Mandatory Evolution Teaching in Science Class
--For. Evolution and the Theory of Evolution are pillars of Biology. To not teach certain aspects of Biology is as senseless as not teaching certain aspects of Chemistry or Physics. The only reason to prevent the teaching of such things is for religious purposes (which has nothing to do with the practice of science to begin with).

Child Porn
--Against. Prepubescent children can't consent to sexual acts, so any sexual conduct pertaining to children would constitute abuse. Post-pubescent children (i.e. teens) may be physically ready for sex, but may not yet be psychologically and emotionally equipped to deal with it (hence the benefit of age-of-consent laws).
[/collapse]

Not sure what these results might make of me, in terms of socio-political alignment. But there you have it.

 

[Sucumbio]

Not sure what these results might make of me, in terms of socio-political alignment. But there you have it.

Now that we have a bunch of replies I guess it would do some good to tally the for/against results and see just how many tea baggers we have in here (I count one or two so far). Will it be me that does it? No.

 

[Sehnsucht]

Now that we have a bunch of replies I guess it would do some good to tally the for/against results and see just how many tea baggers we have in here (I count one or two so far). Will it be me that does it? No.

A shame. I had my #Sucumbio2016 merchandise ready for distribution.

Oh, well.

 

[Sucumbio]

=D

Okay i guess i can whip something up. When i get back from watching Fury that is.

And dinner at Buffalo Wild wings.

Oh god this is worse than fb

 

[Tsukihi Araragi]

Abortion- Pro-choice, I'm not a fan of it though.

Affirmative Action- Against, it just makes minorities look inferior.

Biometric National Identification- Against.

Cloning- Don't care.

Death Penalty- Against.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings- Support.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- Support, I don't care if you're a Nazi or a commie.

Genetic Engineering- Support

Gun Control- Against. I plan on buying a gun once I'm old enough.

Homosexual Equality- Support, even if the LGBT community annoys the **** out of me 90% of the time. They're like "it's good to express yourself" and then they reject you for disagreeing with them.

Drug War- Against.

Mandatory Military Draft- Against.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences- Support.

Minimum Drinking Age- Lower it to 18.

Pass/Fail Grading System- Support.

Porn/Adult Entertainment- Ughh... well that's none of my business.

Prayer in School- I don't care, just keep it to yourself.

Premarital Sex- I don't care.

Racial Profiling- Against.

Separation of Church and State- Support.

Sex Education in School- Support.

Violence in Entertainment- It's fine.

Women in the Draft- Sure, why not?

Women in the military- Again.

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds- Against.

Recessions/Depressions- Cut, dammit.

Net Neutrality- Support.

Polygamy- Don't care.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?)- You can't lie to kids about this, it's like telling them that the sky is red.

Child Porn- Lolis don't count, anything else should be illegal.

 

[Xivii]

Abortion
Affirmative Action
Biometric National Identification
Cloning
Death Penalty ***passionately against***
Euthanasia/Mercy Killings
Freedom of Speech/Freedom of Expression
Genetic Engineering
Gun Control
Homosexual Equality
Drug War
Mandatory Military Draft
Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Minimum Drinking Age
Pass/Fail Grading System
Porn/Adult Entertainment
Prayer in School
Premarital Sex
Racial Profiling
Separation of Church and State
Sex Education in School
Violence in Entertainment
Women in the Draft (Assuming there is a male draft)
Women in the military
Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds
Recessions/Depressions (Not knowledgeable enough)
Net Neutrality
Polygamy
Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class
Child Porn
National Health Care System

 

[FalKoopa]

Abortion - Pro-choice

Affirmative Action - A million times, NO. This actually just deepens the divide in the society, and I'm all too familiar with students with the resentment with normal students show towards those who get selected by this system. I believe that it has simply failed it's objective.

Biometric National Identification - Don't particularly care, but it does feel like an encroachment of privacy. So probably no.

Cloning - Yes. No harm in it.

Death Penalty - As a last resort and only for the most serious of crimes. That's how it is used in most countries, I believe.

Euthanasia/Mercy Killings - Yes.

Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression- Yes.

Genetic Engineering - Yes.

Gun Control - Yes. Universal access to firearms is a recipe for disaster.

Homosexual Equality - Yes. The way they are discriminated against in jobs and others is quite painful.

Drug War - No. People will always find ways to get around it.

Mandatory Military Draft - No.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences - No. Terms should be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Minimum Drinking Age - Yes, Considering the (biologically, mainly) damaging effects of alcohol.

Pass/Fail Grading System - Yes... but aren't grades given on the quality of the work?

Porn/Adult Entertainment - Yes. Besides, it's impossible to get rid of them, even if you wanted to.

Prayer in School - Don't casre, but I'd prefer it if it is kept separate from the schooling system.

Premarital Sex - Yes.

Racial Profiling - No.

Separation of Church and State - Yes.

Sex Education in School - Yes.

Violence in Entertainment - Yes.

Women in the Draft - Yes, if only for the sake of equality.

Women in the military - Yes. Why not?

Mandatory Community Service for 18 year olds - No. People should be free to choose.

Recessions/Depressions- Cut.

Net Neutrality - Yes.

Polygamy - No. I'm against it largely because I've never seen/heard of it ever working out properly.

Mandatory teaching of evolution in science class (including private religious schools?) - Yes.

Child Porn - No. Children are not usually mature enough to fully understand it, nor are they emotionally equipped for it.

 

[FirestormNeos]

Porn/Adult Entertainment - Yes. Besides, it's impossible to get rid of them, even if you wanted to.

^ This dude knows what's up ^

 

[Sucumbio]

Okay! So... up to this point here are the results. There are several conclusions that could be drawn but I only took the time to compile the data and then draw some broad conclusions. Ultimately we can use this data to suggest topics of discussion which I believe was @ Aesir 's intent. There are 3 categories of information, as I see it.

Topics that are almost unaminously decided.
Topics that are split almost 50/50 (good discussion topics)
Topics that are mostly one sided but have a 1/3 or so opposition (possible discussion but it'd potentially end up 1 or two people vs everyone else... though come to think of it, isn't it always that way?).

First, the raw data:

Of all these topics the following were almost unanimous if not fully so.

Cloning - For
Euthanasia - For
Freedom of Speech - For
Genetic Engineering - For
Homosexual Equality - For
"War on Drugs" - Against
Reinstate the Draft - Against
Minimum Drinking Age - For
Porn - For
Allow Prayer in School - For
Premarital Sex - For
Separation of Church and State - For
Sex Education in School - For
Violence in Entertainment - For
Women in the Military - For
Mandatory Community Service at 18 - Against
Net Neutrality - For
Polygamy - For
Mandatory teaching of Evolution - For

These topics were split between 40 and 60 percent for/against:

Affirmative Action
Biometric National Identification
Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
Women in the Draft*

The rest of the topics are outliers with about 25 to 33 percent responses in favor of or against:

Abortion - Mostly For (Pro-Choice)
The Death Penalty - Mostly Against
Gun Control - Mostly For
Pass/Fail Grading System - Mostly Against
Racial Profiling - Mostly Against
Child Porn - Mostly Against
Women in the Draft*

While only a suggestion I'd like to see the DH tackle some of the middle category debates. We can tackle any topic of course, it's just that the unanimous ones are kinda "duh" for a lot of them, and overall just I don't think we'll find opposing viewpoints except for devil's advocate positions. The outliers may make good debate material but it depends on whether or not those few outliers care to come back to discuss the topic at length.

*Note: Women in the Draft turned out to be difficult to parse because many people stipulated "I don't agree with the draft so automatically I don't agree with this" which is actually false. Just because you don't think there should be a draft does NOT mean it won't happen. If it DOES happen, THEN you must decide, should women be a part. So... this could be an outlier based on how many responses actually included their own qualifiers which I had to break down into for/against statements.

 

[FirestormNeos]

Okay! So... up to this point here are the results. There are several conclusions that could be drawn but I only took the time to compile the data and then draw some broad conclusions. Ultimately we can use this data to suggest topics of discussion which I believe was @ Aesir 's intent. There are 3 categories of information, as I see it.

Topics that are almost unaminously decided.
Topics that are split almost 50/50 (good discussion topics)
Topics that are mostly one sided but have a 1/3 or so opposition (possible discussion but it'd potentially end up 1 or two people vs everyone else... though come to think of it, isn't it always that way?).

First, the raw data:

Worried my wording on some things was not clear enough. For example, did you count my comment on Homosexual Equaility and Sex Education in School both as For?

Porn - For

>this being the internet
>mfw

*Note: Women in the Draft turned out to be difficult to parse because many people stipulated "I don't agree with the draft so automatically I don't agree with this" which is actually false.

Oh. THAT WOULD'VE BEEN NICE TO KNOW EARLIER-- *caps lock disabled.*

When my yelling voice comes back, I've got some big words for you-- *caps lock enabled*

ANTIDISESTABLIHMENTARIANISM! SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS! HONORIFICABILITUDINITATIBUS--! *okay now he's just being a smartass*

Just because you don't think there should be a draft does NOT mean it won't happen. If it DOES happen, THEN you must decide, should women be a part.

In that case, sure. Just make sure they are pregnant or parenting.

 

[Tsukihi Araragi]

>2014
>still believing that gun control prevents crime

 

[_Keno_]

Gun control works as long as you don't have massive amounts of guns laying around the country to begin with. So I agree in regards to America.

Opposing views on Biometric National Identification, Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Child Porn, and Pass/Fail Grading System are the topics that really interest me.

 

[FirestormNeos]

>2014
>still believing that gun control prevents crime

Hey! You can't rip-off 4chan format! That's my bit!

 

[Tsukihi Araragi]

Hey! You can't rip-off 4chan format! That's my bit!

Do I smell the smell of a /pol/tard?

Gun control works as long as you don't have massive amounts of guns laying around the country to begin with. So I agree in regards to America.[/quote]
Because encouraging personal responsibility is totally not an option...

 

[_Keno_]

Because encouraging personal responsibility is totally not an option...

Humans? Responsible? Not likely.

Either way, if you want to discuss this with statistics and whatnot, make a thread! That's the purpose of this tally.