The Jedi Council should be Disbanded

Firstly, I think it is wrong for my opponent to claim that his arguments in Round 1 were just to build a foundation for future arguments. If that was indeed the intention, you should have mentioned that first and foremost in Round 1 itself and stated explicitly that you are just giving some background. That way, I wouldn't need to bother with rebuttals in Round 2. This kind of 'chain arguments' where arguments are an intro to a subsequent one are generally frowned upon in debates because each argument should stand up for its own. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I would just like to recap that I felt that my opponents arguments in Round 1 were not actually touching on the Council rather the Jedi Order. My opponent said that the Order should be there both so that it would be easier to kill off the Jedi (from the Dark Side point of view) and also to have a proper structure (from the Light Side point of view). I argued by saying that's true, but it doesn't address whether or not there should be a Jedi Council. Yes, there would still be a Jedi Code and all just no Council to dictate the Jedi. With no Jedi Council, the Emperor can still kill off the Jedi by having the Jedi report directly under the government. On the other hand, the existence of a Jedi Code is still sufficient to maintain the discipline and guidelines of the Jedi. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Round 2 rebuttals My opponent says that just like a religion, it is important to have supervisors for the Jedi to rely on for problem-solving etc. I would argue that that's certainly true. However, the role of supervisor and/or leader can be taken by any number of figures. The Emperor can fill in such role, or a senior Jedi master to the Padawan under his care. I would argue further that just as my opponent said, the Jedi's parents can also act as the support system to make sure they don't become 'radicalised' and turn bad into Sith. Before you say that these people are not Jedi and therefore, do not understand the Jedi Code etc., I would argue that the Jedi teachings have been drawn thousands of years before and should be educated to the Jedi. That is how they earned the title "Jedi" anyway. You don't necessarily need another Jedi to tell a Jedi right from wrong. If a religious person does something detrimental in the society you don't need another person with the same religion to tell them they are crossing the line. At the very least, the Jedi will still be an organization that has peer-to-peer support to make sure no one is up to no good. After all, that's how religions are for the most part. You don't need to be under direct supervision 24 hours from a priest or a religious authority. You know your teachings and you work on what you know. And other people are free to criticize you or advise you if they feel like they don't agree with you even though they don't have the same religion as you. I just feel that the Jedi Council is extremely restrictive and too controlling in making sure the Jedi stick in line. It is this attitude which causes the Jedi to rebel in the first place. Yes, you can have spiritual advisors, but they are there to interpret the teachings and advise you, not to DICTATE what you should or should not do. NOT to be a figure you have to ask for consent every time you feel like doing something. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ My opponent then makes the argument that every system on Earth including the animal kingdom has structure and leadership. Firstly, I think that animals should definitely not be used as a parable to humans. One would argue that they are programmed to act as they are. Even from birth, they intuitively already know what to do. This is programmed in their genetic code. I would even say that God has created them to behave in those ways. Just as they are animals who rely heavily on packs and teamwork, there are just as many that live solo or rogue. Human beings are different because we have such a diverse range or personalities affected by nature and nurture. We don't know how to do almost anything since we are born and we have to acquire knowledge by reading and observing. Thus, the examples of the bees and wolves to me are not befitting to be used as a parable for humans. My opponent mentions countries, tribes universities?? yeah sure. But in most of these things, you don't actually have to wait for instructions to do something. You are free to do as you please so long as you don't endanger others. Essentially, this is the spirit of my arguments. The Jedi Council is not at all like this. For the most part, they decide how to live your life and will not hesitate to banish you if you put a toe out of line. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ My opponents' final argument is about bounty hunters vs Jedi. Bounty hunters are selfish and if Jedi have no order they will too, become bounty hunters. Just using the material from the movies (as I have clearly set in the rules) you cannot say for certain the bounty hunters have no loyalty. I would argue Boba Fett loved his father. We also would be wise to feel that Jango Fett felt a strong connection to the cause of the Emperor by helping him with his clone army and trying to assassinate Padme. Just because they are bounty hunters by profession, it does not give us enough to say that they are evil or selfish. From their point of view, they too are doing what they need to do for the stability of the galaxy. Also, I never said that the Jedi would be free to do what they can do without a Council. As I have said again and again if they do something which is damaging to the society, the Emperor if he chooses can order other Jedi to arrest him. Please be aware that just because there is no Council does not mean that the Jedi will now disconnect with each other. They can still create a 'Jedi club' supporting each other. Also, they will always be under the jursditcion of the government just like everyone else. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This has been a long argument so I will end it here. Good luck to my opponent :)