Second Junior Debate
Saturday 21st January 2012 This House
Believes that it is Better to Turn the Other Cheek The second Ludgrove Junior Debate contained one notable first
and that was that there were 3 main speakers on each side of the Debate, such
was the demand to be part of the occasion. What-is-more, half of those speakers
came from the IVs and all spoke impressively. The Motion was proposed by Alexander Ballingal, who explained
the Motion pointing out that it was not a prescriptive Motion, but simply said
that it was better to turn the other cheek and that is what people should try
to do. He used the notable phrase ‘Jaw, Jaw is better than War, War’ to argue
that arguing or fighting or war should be a last resort. He quoted the Bible
and urged the audience to trust the Police to do their job rather than try to
tackle a mugger oneself. Charlie Bullen then opened the argument for the Opposition.
He told boys to stand their ground; that it was a cruel world out there and
that to be a winner, turning cheeks was not a viable option. Freddie Pickthorn
(who had taken the place of an ill Bertie Southgate) then countered for the
Motion by arguing that it was part of growing up to turn the other cheek. He
suggested that teaching self-defence to everyone would allow potential bullies
to learn how to fight more effectively. He also quoted from the Bible, and
Jesus and Ghandi featured as Men of Peace and Freddie pointed out how
unhappiness was always the ultimate result from arguing and fighting. William Burges Watson then spoke against the Motion. He
re-iterated the points made by Charlie Bullen and suggested that looking fierce
might win fights or arguments without actually needing to fight. He said that
countries, like people, need to stand up for themselves and be prepared to
fight, and he contrasted the appeasement policies of Neville Chamberlain to the
bulldog spirit of Winston Churchill as Hitler made his traditional entry to a
Ludgrove debate, this time as the bully to whom no cheek should be turned.
Hector Perry was the last main speaker for the Motion and he suggested that we
should walk away from bullies and make them look stupid. He asked the audience
to consider that the goal of educating children to live in peace, and that
Hitler and Bin Laden were bad men because they had been raised to believe that
fighting and arguing were the right way to get what you want. Alecko Olympitis then concluded the speeches from the
platform by speaking against the Motion. He reminded the boys what a terrible
time they would have if they let their sisters get what they wanted without an
argument or a fight and he suggested that Ludgrove would win no more rugby
matches if the boys turned soft by turning the other cheek all the time. He
accused the proposers of the Motion of hypocrisy by asserting that the whole
Junior Debate was an argument and that the proposers of the Motion should turn
the other cheek and give in. He urged the audience to learn how to defend
themselves and he painted a scary picture of the state of Britain’s streets
were self-defence seemed to be key to survival. The Motion was then opened to the Floor of the House. There
were 63 contributions (!) from all year groups with the VIs making particularly
pertinent observations. A lot of discussion centred around whether a person
should follow the Police instructions to give a mugger what he wants as one’s
life is worth more than one’s possessions, or whether attack was the best form
of defence; tasers were suggested by some and guns by others. The Bible was
dismissed by Charles Aithrie in a rather sweeping statement that may well lead
to further discussions in Div III RS lessons. Although there were lots of hands still in the air indicating
a desire to contribute further, the VIs’ bedtime loomed and so William Burges
Watson summed up for the Opposition. He countered many of the points made from
the Floor of the House and stressed the need to stand and fight for what you
believe is right. Alexander Balingal then summed up for the Motion and pointed
out that bullies thrive in an atmosphere of violence and that the better course
of action was to turn the other cheek. A vote was taken and the Motion was carried by 54 For the
Motion to 46 votes Against the Motion, with one abstention. My thanks go to the main speakers for their efforts in
preparing their points and for speaking so clearly, and to the small army of
boys who helped set up the Lecture Room so speedily in the short time between
the end of the Lambrook matches and the start of tea. RNMD