After months of anticipation, the time has arrived for the announcement of the second LD resolution of the 2023-2024 debate season. This resolution was the second most popular resolution from the spring 2022 member vote. The final resolution will be the 1st place resolution from the spring vote. You now have 2 months to prepare your cases before debating this resolution in February and March. Without further delay the 2nd resolution is as follows:
Resolved: National security concerns ought to be valued above individual rights.
This debate is as old as the advent of the state and as enduring as the pages of history: should the government prioritize its own security or subvert that security to better serve its citizens’ rights? Conscription, censorship, surveillance, state secrecy, suspension of habeas corpus, propaganda and manipulation, lavish spending on the military – all these measures come at the cost of individual rights, yet even free societies consider many or most of these practices essential responsibilities of the state. So, what should be the relationship between security and rights? What should we prioritize?
Fall Resolution:
Resolved: A free press should prioritize objectivity over advocacy.
Debated 10/1/2023 - 1/31/2024
Spring Resolution
Resolved: National security concerns ought to be valued above individual rights.
Debated 2/1/2024-3/31/2024
Last Resolution will be announced 3/13/2024
Debated 4/1/2024 - NITOC 2024
Your Stoa Debate Committee