[ NYT Magazine quote continued ] This season Liberty is closing in on an unprecedented sweep -- first place in the rankings in all three national college debate groups: the American Debate Association, the Cross Examination Debate Association and the National Debate Tournament. That sounds all authoritative-like, y'know ? Like revealed truth. [ per the Grey Lady's stupendous reputation for great reporting on, say, the presence of WMD's in Iraq ? ] Says Brayton:
"Liberty University gets to be #1 ranked by sending lots and lots of novices and JV debaters to smaller regional tournaments, piling up points. But their varsity team is slightly above average at very best. No varsity team from Liberty has finished with a winning record at the National Debate Tournament (NDT) in the last 8 years.... In short, Liberty University's approach resembles a common approach of many leaders on the Christian right : game the system. If you want some historical background on how the Christian right games politics to the detriment of the Democratic process, here are two great examples:
How Southern Baptists Have Changed: The point of both these personal narratives, deeply felt, is something like this : the strategic thrust of those who have engineered the rise of the Christian right in modern America has little to nothing to do with concern for truth or the spirit of Democracy. It is mainly about the acquisition of power. Truth is elsewhere.
Stats, Lies, and the NYT Magazine: Falwell U. isn't #1 in debating. Not even close. | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
Stats, Lies, and the NYT Magazine: Falwell U. isn't #1 in debating. Not even close. | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
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