Turning Our Country's Discord Into a Teachable Moment: The Role Colleges/Universities Should Be Taking.

I have heard people express frustration about the Trump impeachment turmoil. Most are completely bewildered as to how in the world the same set of "glaringly evident" facts can be so misconstrued, misunderstood and spun for their own political interests by "the other side."

As a communications professional, I find it fascinating to watch from a distant "sociological vantage point" to look at the gaps in communications that are causing the confusion. Now some of the confusion is clearly manufactured as part of the spin and much of the dialogue addresses party agendas rather than dealing with actual facts. But, it is also true that much of the confusion is due to process - a process that allows for a cocophony of dialogue with very little Point vs. Point interaction. No wonder the public is frustrated and confused....

So, I have an idea.... Let's have colleges and universities take this on as an academic exercise to help the public understand the facts and teach the public simultaneously how to improve their skills of discernment.

The Details: Let's hold formal debates among professors at colleges and universities

I would ask six professors from each college and university to hold a debate. Ideally, the professors would be cross-disciplined (ie. psychology, sociology, political science, history, management and communications).

They would debate both articles of impeachment in two separate debates on the same night.

Debate 1- Resolved: President Trump should not be removed from office due to article one of the impeachment: Abuse of Power.

Debate 2- Resolved: President Trump should not be removed from office due to article two of the impeachment: Obstruction of Congress.

Resolutions are always stated in the affirmative to the advantage of government.

Team "A" would take the affirmative in the first debate on the first article of impeachment...then, after a short intermission, the teams would switch sides so that Team "B" is now arguing in the affirmative for the second debate on the second article of impeachment.

The points of this exercise would be:

1) To demonstrate debate as a purely academic exercise to help students and people in the general public learn to reason and hear both sides of the arguments from trusted messengers.

2) It teaches students and the general public about how formal debate is conducted and why it is important for students to learn this rhetorical discipline.

3) It would demonstrate that a good debater can argue either side of an argument.

4) It could help students and the general public better understand the issues by hearing the topics covered in a point vs. point logic rather than trying to wade through political spin.

5) It demonstrates how a civilized society conducts robust disagreement without hurling childish and meaningless insults.

6) It could provide a more informed public going into the 2020 Presidential elections.

7) It could enhance dialogue on other important issues such as global warming, etc.

8) It encourages cross-collaboration of varied disciplines and engages the general public in college/university activity (great pr!)

I would love to have the chance to make this happen at universities and colleges across the country...Contact me. Let's make this happen!