The 2017-2018 NSDA Potential LD Resolution Final Sort

Now for the final overview. Fuller analysis of each or below. As I said on the first post for this year's topics, young Mr. Downey has the keys and can weigh in at his leisure.

I am tempted to use knife reviewer Nick Shabazz's rubric, "the good, the great, the bad, and the ugly," but predicting what will happen with future resolutions is always a dice roll, so I am not going to declare any of these as great. Therefore, I am going to modify it to Good, Meh, Bad, Ugly

The Good

Resolved: Wealthy nations have an obligation to provide development assistance to other nations.

Resolved: In the United States, reporters ought to have the right to protect the identity of confidential sources. (Would be Meh because it's narrow, but the Trump administration's war on leakers keeps escalating, so there will be new issues weekly.)

The Meh list includes

Resolved: A democracy ought to require the separation of church and state. 

Resolved: In the United States, workers ought to have a civil right to unionize. 

Resolved: Plea bargaining ought to be abolished in the United States criminal justice system. (I like it, but I remember it getting old fast.)

Resolved: The United States ought to provide a universal basic income. (Another one that might fit in the good category, but I'm feeling cantankerous)

The bad includes the following:

Resolved: In the United States, non-human animals ought to have legally protected rights.

Resolved: The non-therapeutic use of human enhancement technologies is immoral.

Resolved: The United States’ use of targeted killing in foreign countries is unjust.  

The only truly ugly resolution on the list is Resolved: Privileged individuals ought not appropriate the culture of a marginalized group. If I am feeling really cynical, I might argue that the phrasing points to reasons why Trump won the election.