HVDU Plan

The Plan of the Hudson Valley Debate Union

A Primer in the Form of a Dialogue

“So, Patrick, when you were coming up with the idea of the Hudson Valley Debate Union, did you have a plan, a vision, an idea, a goal, a set of principles, for how the HVDU would operate?

Yes, I did, and I do.

“So what is that plan?”

Well, park yourself on the couch there, next to Spike and Ziggy, and I’ll spell it out for you.

“Sounds good. I’m all ears.”

Excellent. A question for you. Have you ever been to New Zealand?

“No, I haven’t.”

I have. Now, if you’ve ever had the privilege of being there for an extensive amount of time, you will learn about the Maori, the indigenous Polynesian people of that country.

“What do the Maori people have to do with the HVDU?”

Patience, my friend. Let me continue. If you are fortunate, you may have the privilege of an invitation to a marae, a Maori meeting and cultural center. The Maori were, and are, a warrior culture, and since you the outsiders are visitors to the marae, you will be challenged. At most maraes, this comes in the form of the wero, which means “challenge.”

 

 

The wero may seem wild and incomprehensible to the outsider, but there is a considerable amount of etiquette here. The critical part here is the eye contact between you, as the leader of the outsiders, and the warrior challenging you with his taiaha (that’s the weapon he’s brandishing). You need to meet his gaze. If you run away, or scream, or look distracted, or blow chunks, or otherwise demonstrate that you are not meeting his gaze — this is considered impolite. The warrior then lays down the token, and — this is critical — the leader of the visitors picks it up. This indicates that the visitors have come in peace, and the welcome can continue with the haka powhiri (a haka for welcoming).

Of course, the challenge can come on a bigger level. The most important recent challenge was at the Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park in Auckland in October 2011. Here’s Piri Weepu and the All Blacks laying down the haka challenge to the French, and — the French are meeting their gaze.

 

 

“So what’s the point?”

Well, what was in common with the two challenges?

“The meeting of the gaze.”

Very good. Full marks for that one.

“And I still don’t get how this all relates to debating.”

Well, it’s a matter of finding a way to debate that allows the sides to challenge each other, to look each other in the eye at the wero, and a way for them to find the taiaha within them (language warning below).

 

 

“So, do people at HVDU events come armed with pointed sticks?”

No, they don’t. But I have gotten a bit ahead of myself. When I was in the Southern Hemisphere, I wasn’t yet interested in debate. I wasn’t a Debate Geek in high school, or in college, or even at grad school, or even well after grad school.

“So what got you interested in it?”

It was a trip to a different country, namely, Ireland. I’ve told the details of the story on this page here, but I’ll make a brief recap. My job sent me on a brief trip to University College, Dublin, Ireland, to cover a debate at UCD’s famous Literary and Historical Society, their debate (and social) club. I was quite impressed by the event, including such passages as this:

 

 

“Very impressive.”

Yes. Now, that happened in September 2000. And what was happening around that time in our country?

“Hmmmm … hmmmmm … let me think … oh, yes. There was a Race for the White House. Bush vs. Gore, yes?”

Good memory. And I noticed that the debates between the two of them looked a lot like this:

 

 

Now, my friend, what do you notice about that picture?

“Well, there are just the three persons in the picture. Bush, Gore, and Jim Lehrer of The PBS News Hour.”

Good. And what else?

“Errrrr … there’s a table in between them.”

Precisely correct. And, when both Bush and Gore are seated at that table, in a normal seated position, what’s right in front of their eyes?

“Jim Lehrer.”

And if Gore or Bush want to look each other in the eye, what do they have to do?

“They have to bend, twist. They have to lose eye contact with Jim Lehrer. They can’t … meet each others’ gaze.”

Good. And what is Jim Lehrer doing at this event?

“Moderating. Asking questions.”

Why?

“What do you mean?”

I mean, why is Jim Lehrer asking them questions? Why can’t they ask each other questions directly?

“I never thought of that.”

But I did. At any rate, now take a look at this picture. What is it, and what do you see?

 

 

“It’s … a Presidential debate. It’s all of the Republican candidates for the White House for 2012.”

Who’s in charge of the event?

“The … two moderators.”

Rather than the candidates themselves. And the candidates … what can’t they do?

“They can’t look each other in the eye.”

Correct. They can’t challenge each other, and they can’t display the taiaha within themselves, except as the moderator directs. In fact, this event, and all such events are not debates, as far as I’m concerned. They are parallel press conferences. And I have made that a Basic HVDU Principle — An HVDU event is not a parallel press conference.

“So what happened next?”

Well, after thinking about it for a bit, I was determined to have two other principles for the HVDU.

“Which were?”

First: the “L and Haitch” is a wonderful instutition, but it has two weaknesses. It’s a University, which means that, as the advertisers say, it “skews 18-25.” I was determined that debate about public policy belonged to all age groups, not just college-agers. So, a second basic principle: The target audience for an HVDU debate is “all adults.”

Second: as I was developing the concept, I was determined that HVDU events would be grounded in real public policy. One weakness of the L&H events was that debate topics were too vague. When I visited the L&H, the motion was, “This House believes that pornography gives more pain than pleasure.”

“That seems rather clear, no?”

No, it’s not in the least bit clear. What is “pornography,” what is “pain,” and what is “pleasure”? You can argue about those meanings all day, and if they get into the middle of a debate event, you’ll quickly get stuck in the LaBrea tar pits.

So in order to get out of this, I set a third basic principle: All HVDU events are anchored in single, real public policy decision. It doesn’t matter what kind of policy decision. It can be a bill that’s going through the legislative process in Congress, or a State Legislature, or a municipal council. Or it can be a big court case that’s in the process of argument. Or it can be an administrative decision. The point is that real lives are affected by these decisions. Vagueness does not.

So, for example, the motion: “The Indian Point nuclear power plant is bad and should be closed,” is vague. There’s no reality behind that sentiment–and that’s all it is: a sentiment. This one is different: “This House urges the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to reject the license renewal application for Indian Point Nuclear Generating Units Nos. 2 and 3″. The NRC is really making this decision. You can see all the real public record at the link to the NRC’s site there.

Similarly: “Gay marriage–good or bad?” Far too vague. However, this is not: “This House urges the New York Senate and Assembly to reject the Marriage Equality Bill (Assembly Bill 7732/Senate Bill 4401).” That was a real bill in the New York State Legislature for the 2009-2010 session. It had 53 sponsors. Now, the HVDU event debating it rejected the motion (and would have passed the bill), but in real life, the bill was rejected by the Legislature in that session — only to have a newer version pass in the 2011-2012 Legislature.

“Aha. So an HVDU event is like — a mini Legislature for the evening — except real people are doing the voting, not politicians.”

Correct. Except, like it or not, politicians are real people too. We’ve become conditioned to not-believe that. That’s part of the HVDU’s purpose — to bring the reality of the political decision-making process to “ordinary” people who might not have that opportunity.

“Interesting.”

The third principle that I was determined to follow was — floor planning.

“Say what?”

In order to have a real, eye-to-eye debate, you have to be in control of the floor plan — as much as you can. Usually, public meetings and events in this country have a particular floor plan. Here are some typical setups:
 

 

 
“And what’s wrong with those layouts?”

Nothing, as such. But the mission of the HVDU is to go beyond the usual and the typical. You will notice that those meetings, which you’ve seen a thousand times in meetings from coast-to-coast, is — the Panel of Experts up top, bringing Information from On High to the masses below. And, as Norman Rockwell understood, it takes a really brave fellow to step out of that pack and challenge the Experts from On High:

So what was needed was A Different Floorplan. One where the Experts were not from On High, and anyone in the audience who found the taiaha within them could challenge them, eye-to-eye. Fortunately, such a floorplan exists.

“What does it look like?”

Take a look:

“Quite prestigious.”

Indeed. The first one is from the Oxford Union, and the second two are from the Cambridge Union, the leading debate (and social) institutions at their respective Universities. Would you like even more prestige?

“Of course.”

Then observe:

The first is the British House of Commons at Westminster, London, England, and the second is the Canadian House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

“Can’t beat that for prestige.”

The point is that every day, in those two bodies, some of the world’s most powerful leaders have a daily gut check. A daily wero, if you like. They have to go eye-to-eye with their political opponents — in a way that we’ve never really done in the USA before. That’s why floor layout is an important factor at the HVDU.

“And how has that worked out?”

Take a look:

“So what I’m seeing here, from your gallery of HVDU events, are some Principal Speakers getting challenged, accepting a wero, if you like, from another Principal Speaker or a Voting Guest, and they are responding to the eye-to-eye contact from that challenge.”

You have learned your lesson well, my friend. And it looks like the Principal Speakers all seemed to have done all right. They didn’t explode or anything like that.

“They all seem to be in one piece.”

That’s why an HVDU event is the most fun you can have on two feet.