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that follows the formal speeches, it will not be a constructive activity for the educational program.  Debate, however, is attractive to Americans for two reasons.  Most of us have listened to debates and many of us have taken part in them at school or college: so the setting is familiar.  The competitive feature of debate appeals to American audiences.  But the combative atmosphere of debate denies the basic principles of discussion.  These imply an impartial examination of the facts and an attempt to reach a solution acceptable from a number of viewpoints.  If debate is used, the only way to meet his dilemma is to throw the subject open for discussion by the audience with the debaters acting as the experts.
There are other disadvantages to the debate form.  Debate implies that there are only two sides—affirmative and negative— to the question, while numerous public issues are many-sided.  Furthermore, all members of each team must support one side or the other of the proposition regardless of whether they agree fully with it.  To this extent debate is forced, artificial, and rigid.
The subject for debate must be so phrased that one side will categorically uphold it (the Affirmative), and the other will opposed it (the Negative).  Normally each team will have two or three members.  The debate begins with the first speaker for the Affirmative.  The main speeches alternate from Affirmative to Negative until the last speaker for the negative have finished.  In preparing their main speeches the team members divide between them the statements of fact and issues which they wish to make.  After the main speeches the rebuttal speeches begin.  The first of these is made by a speaker for the Negative followed by an Affirmative rebuttal, and so on.  In the rebuttal speeches each member tries to disprove or raise objections to points made by the opposing team.  For this purpose each side has made notes of arguments or facts advanced by their opponents.
In debating it is customary for specially appointed judges or the audience to vote either on the merits of the question or on

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