That works for me. I'll take a look at the thread to try and get a sense of what's going on and when to post. Anything in particular that I need to know?
I, on the other hand, believe that a better alternative is to actually strengthen our optimism and our regard for other people. Cynicism and bleakness breed more cynicism and more bleakness. We can have a better world, and we will one day, but only if we give up the idea that the world is what it is and people are who they are. On some level, I think you know that—otherwise you wouldn’t consider changing someone’s opinion a viable debate strategy.
Well, apologies for it getting out of hand. It was a snowball effect that we all got caught up in. For me personally, when I find what I conclude to be a disregard for other people, it doesn't sit well with me.
Let me leave you with this thought, just as food for thought. You mentioned you’ve had some experience and that you’ve seen things. Fair enough. I won’t ask you what those were, that’s your business. What I will say, though, is that I think humanity is far too quick to become disillusioned by experiences like that. I think we too easily tend to create a bleak outlook on life because of it and turn towards cynicism.
Ah, OK. I was going to say "You should've said so!" but given that you were essentially conducting an experiment, I can see why you didn't say so. Do you feel it helped your debate skill?