Television does more harm than good

I accept your challenge! I will begin in round 1 since you have not made any determinations regarding opening arguments. According to the resolution, Pro must argue that television causes more harm than good. This is very different than proving that television produces some ill effects, as Pro must prove that the ill effects it causes are collectively worse than the good produced or enabled by television. Since this is a debate of values, I also presume that the defining characteristics of those values are open for debate since criteria have not been provided by Pro in the opening round. Though Pro mentions the Internet above, I presume the title of this debate contains its resolution, and so I will just focus on evaluating the Pro"s and Con"s of television. My position is that television on the whole produces more good than harm. Here are my opening arguments. 1. Communication: Weather reports, national tragedy, or sports news, television is an efficient and effective communicator. Because it"s able to carry information almost immediately, its consumers can benefit from this immediacy, which might be particularly important during a sudden inclement weather event. 2. Moral Conscience: The most effective way to confront the first world with tragedy is to transmit it directly to their screens through documentaries and news specials on television. These programs can inspire people to take up a worthy cause or give money to a charity, but even if it doesn"t, it can instill a general awareness to people about certain issues like poverty or environmental degradation " and at the very least inspire them to vote. Television is also an excellent way to grease the wheels of our civil justice system. Many people who have had their lives and health damaged through the irresponsible decisions of corporations do not even know they could be entitled to compensation until they see lawyers explaining concepts like Mesothelioma or medical malpractice on television. 3. Social Progress: Just like a television can inspire someone"s interest in a cause, it can be used as a tool to create empathy for a particular group of people by simply showing that that group isn"t "immoral" or "sinful." I think the case and point would be shows like Glee and Modern Family, which depict healthy, fully functioning gay adults. http://www.lifesitenews.com... 4. Political Accountability: While 24/7 news organizations have much dramatized our political process to its detriment, we tend to ignore the fact that these organizations have also undertaken an enormous effort to make citizens interested and updated on regular activities in our government. As a result, scandals break faster and harder, and while people can go overboard sometimes, abuses of power incite more outrage and invite larger political repercussions. 5. Justice: Whether television helps catch criminals or find missing children by posting their pictures, this will not be a benefit easily replaced by another medium or technology in the near future. Consider recently, the parents of the abducted Roma girl will be reunited with their child because they first saw pictures of the little girl on television. http://www.theguardian.com... I reserve the right to expand upon these arguments and make more arguments in later rounds. I yield back to Pro.