What is the point of Online Political Debate?

Recently on another site, someone pointed out to me that they respected my efforts, but that the Mayor of Overland and her supporters will not listen to what I have to say. They said that it has been tried before, and no one could get through to them.

Well, first I would like to point out that alot of the current Mayor's supporters said exactly the same thing about the previous Mayor and his supporters. On average, both sides are right about that. Both sides tend to the blind devotion of partisanship (A Partisan being a "fervent, sometimes militant supporter or proponent of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea" in this use of the word).

People tend to become single minded once they choose sides. I know alot of devoted Republican's for example who will not accept a single bad word about President Bush. Now of course there is alot of "Bush Bashers" out there who will twist everything the President does until it looks wrong. However, President Bush has made some mistakes, that only "partisan blinders" could prevent someone from seeing.

The same holds true in regard to former President Clinton. There were "Clinton Haters" out there who would attack everything President Clinton did and twist it around to make it all look bad. However, there were alot of Clinton supporters out there wearing the same "political blinders", which would not allow them to see the mistakes he made as well.

So, with all these partisans and zealots out there, how do you "win" when you debate politics online? Well, to start with, you don't. Once in a blue moon you might change another posters opinion on something. However that is extremely rare (and it is nearly unheard of for someone to admit that change of mind online).

For some who debate politics online the goal is not to "win". The goal is to get their point of view out there, to give their side equal time, to challenge their political opposites assumptions, etc. It becomes a chess match of words.

For others it becomes personal. "They will not listen to me at all", so they go on the attack, as if questioning their opponent's waist size and the like will somehow allow then to "win". This can quickly become a flame war that makes both sides look childish.

Then there are those who see Internet based political debate as simply a hobby and a learning tool. You believe one thing, someone else believes another and they learn more and more about both sides as they research them in their efforts to "win" the debate with their opponent. If people do not go personal, this can actually be a fun past time for some, and an excellent issue review tool for others.

Lastly, there are those who see online political debate as a tool to help educate others and promote their ideals. On any debate site, about 20% of the people who visit it, actually post. The other "lurkers" simply come to read what others have written. They do this because they want to learn about the issues, or they have a particular issue of concern, or they just like to watch a good debate (or they are looking to steal some content for a homework assignment :-) ). Those who see these debates as an educational tool realize that many of the "lurkers" are undecided voters (most political partisans cannot visit a political debate site for long before they "have to" tell this guy that he is wrong or that girl that she is right). The "Lurkers" are really the ones people like myself are posting to.

If you want to effect political change you have to reach the voters. Preaching to the choir can be fun but you really don't gain much. Some take great pleasure in bashing their opponents, but they rarely gain ground and sometimes they loose a little. If you want to "WIN" you need to reach out to the undecided voters. Those people who are interested observers, not beholden to one side or the other and are actively seeking to learn which side is better, in their opinion, based on their own views.

That is the reason I and others like me "fight the good fight" of always trying to stay above board, always trying to focus on the issues and always trying to reach out to the other side (though I falter at times). Sure, I might actually swing someone from one side to the other on an issue (some have managed to swing me in the past on sites like Americas Debate), but the real reason I keep on, keepin' on, is because I want to keep the information flowing to the undecided lurkers out there. I want them to see that their are real issues here and that this is not simply about some sort of childish insult contest between two self-centered, self-important, ideologically bigoted groups.

This way, if nothing else these people can make their decisions based on something more then he says she's fat or she says he's an idiot.