Ben Carson is really Stupid

Below were Pro’s points in his last argument: 1. Saying that Obamacare is the worst thing since slavery is false, as history shows. 2. “I don't care that [Ben Carson] apologized. He said it. You cant use a double standard.” (Note: I, Con, am not sure if “He said it” refers to saying that 1) homosexuality is a choice or 2) all gays come from prison.) 3. Socialism is the lack of government. 4. While Carson did not say that “most” Americans are stupid, he did say that “many” are. 5. Since his “warped religious view on the world” causes Carson to think the pyramids are grain storages, there could also be political things he believes that are stupid. 6. “[I]n his book he is being proved that he didn't stab his friend and he is actually DEFENDING that he stabbed his friend.” 7. Carson endorsed Mannatech’s product, thus lying. 8. “Ben Carson shows little to no political experience and cannot be elected president and expected to act competently.” Saying that Obamacare is the worst thing since slavery is false, as history shows. What does the fact that Carson said, “Obamacare is … the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And ... it is slavery in a way, because it is making all of us subservient to the government” mean? Are we to believe that Ben Carson’s focus was on thinking about every single thing that has happened since the implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment and saying that none of that is as bad as Obamacare? Or was his main focus on comparing Obamacare to slavery? If it’s the latter—merely comparing Obamacare to slavery, in the sense that it’s “making all of us subservient to the government”—then this would make him no less stupid than the person who got a new, state-of-the-art toaster and said, “This new toaster is the greatest invention since sliced bread.” Sliced bread was invented in 1928,[1] while the Internet was invented decades later. If I attempted to debate against you, Pro, over whether or not this person was “really stupid”—and if I said that this person is stupid, while you said he isn’t— would it be valid for me to tell you, “Go a year without sliced bread. For most people, that’s way easier than going half that time (6 months) without the Internet. No email, no social media (not that I use it myself), no online gaming, no online videos such as those watched through YouTube—why, we couldn’t even be debating online right now without the Internet. The Internet is way more useful, both in things as important as the government or things as simple as everyday life. Therefore, the person who said, ‘This new toaster is the greatest invention since sliced bread,’ is really stupid”? Just because someone says, “A is the best/worst thing since B” doesn’t mean we have to think about every single thing that’s gone on—in history, science, etc.—and decide whether such is the case. Again, Ben Carson may have meant that in some sense, Obamacare is worse than everything that’s happened since slavery. But such was not shown to be the case by Pro. Therefore, the point is invalid. “I don't care that [Ben Carson] apologized. He said it. You cant use a double standard.” If you mean that Carson’s “really stupid” for believing that homosexuality’s a choice, then it would only be an argument in favor of Carson being scientifically stupid, not politically stupid. Even the APA—which you referenced—while claiming that “most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation,” does answer the question “What causes a person to have a particular sexual orientation?” by saying, “There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a ... gay orientation. ... no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors.”[2] Again, though, that’s another debate, as this one is over Carson being politically stupid. If you’re still saying that Carson said that all homosexuals—every single one of them—have come from prison, he said that we can’t say homosexuals are “born that way,” because when some people go to prison heterosexual, they come out homosexual. Birth wasn’t a factor. He NEVER in the reference you gave said that every single homosexual has come from prison. Using vegetarianism to illustrate again (don’t ask me why), say someone comes up to me and declares, “Vegetarians are emotionally incapable of drinking milk.” If I debunk such a view by citing the fact that there are vegetarians living on ranches that drink milk, am I saying that all vegetarians—every single one of them—come from ranches? That’s absurd! That’s “really stupid,” not Carson. A vegetarian may or may not be from a ranch. In the same way, just because Carson debunked the claim that all homosexuals are “born that way” by citing the fact that some heterosexuals become homosexuals in prison, doesn’t mean he said that every single homosexual has come from prison; not at all! Socialism is the lack of government. Ben Carson’s not talking about what that UK reference said; his meaning fits what that Merriam-Webster reference I gave said. That’s what he means, and that’s what it’s understood to mean, as far as I know. For example, in that CNS reference you gave as an attempt to prove he called Obama a socialist, he compared Obamacare (which involves government intervention) to “socialized medicine” and said that “socialized medicine is the keystone of the arch to the socialist state.” While Carson did not say that “most” Americans are stupid, he did say that “many” are. Well, who wouldn’t agree? There are many stupid people out there. To me—unless you have evidence to prove otherwise—it seems more stupid to disagree with that statement than it is to believe it. Since his “warped religious view on the world” causes Carson to think the pyramids are grain storages, there could also be political things he believes that are stupid. Logically speaking, this statement is a formal fallacy known as the appeal to possibility or probability. It’s where you assume that if something possibly or probably will happen, then it absolutely will happen. Just because Carson’s views of the pyramids may mean he’ll perform stupid political actions doesn’t prove that he will, in fact, perform stupid political actions. Again, since the view is not directly related to political policy, if it would hurt his political career, it would have already hurt is medical career. Also, if he has all these absurd political views that will make our nation into a wreck if he’s president, such views would already have been exposed; the media’s been trying everything in their power to find such. “[I]n his book he is being proved that he didn't stab his friend and he is actually DEFENDING that he stabbed his friend.” You failed to verify any of this with sources; rather, you merely asserted them. Carson endorsed Mannatech’s product, thus lying. Yeah, he said it’s a good product. But that’s not a lie; he clarified that in his answer about Mannatech; using that Breitbart source again, let me bring it up what he said: Well, that’s easy to answer. I didn’t have an involvement with them. ... Do I take the product? Yes. I think it’s a good product. If he were attempting to lie and say that he never endorsed Mannatech’s product, he wouldn’t have just did it on national television any time recently; instead, he would have left out those last two sentences. “Ben Carson shows little to no political experience and cannot be elected president and expected to act competently.” If lack of political experience means that Carson’s politically stupid and cannot be president, then hopefully you were consistent in 2008 and told the Democrats that Barack Obama “shows little to no political experience and cannot be elected president and expected to act competently."Thank you, and vote Con! References [1] http://www.chillicothecity.org... [2] http://www.apa.org...