Thursday, February 21, 2008
- The Honorable Bob Schaffer, Chairman
No matter the complexity of a political debate, conservatives win when they define the core element of liberty in a question.
Too often, the wonkish among us are prone to nail down the details of a case at the expense of the most powerful line of argument – that liberty is better than bondage. The advantage goes to the speaker who can simplify the complex yet command the supporting details in an elegant way.
The great classical philosophers approached moral questions by finding the logical core and following it to a rather black and white conclusion. To them, only contemporary habits and human weaknesses make resolving such questions difficult.
Familiarity with basic philosophy and western history can be of enormous help in structuring a powerful debate approach. Patrick Henry summoned the best of both elements in making his famous 1775 speech on the question of war with Britain.
Henry dismissed the emotion that clouded his opponents’ logically weak argument noting, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth and listen to the song of that siren ‘til she transforms us into beasts.”
His argument touched on many facts of the debate, but he oriented each to his proposition that liberty was better than bondage regardless of the risk.
Achieving liberty is the ultimate objective of the LPR program. Through our many graduates, friends and acquaintances we’ve added dramatically to what Henry called “the millions of people armed in the holy cause of liberty.”