Debate

I think I talked about this a few years back, but one thing few people know about me is that in high school there was one thing I was bloodthirsty for- debate. I didn't officially join the debate team because I was already in the Key Club, bicycle club and one or two others I can't remember, plus the concert and marching band, not to mention my extracurricular activities, but I may as well have. It was the same people.
 The morning of a debate I'd get up early and put on my nicest clothes. I'd eat a good breakfast, which I usually did anyway, and I'd head off to school fired-up. I rarely lost a debate to anyone. I tried to keep an even keel and shoot straight from facts, and I did my research, which BTW I still do today. I was respectful of my opponent and their opinions, and if their stand on something made more sense, I'd at least consider it. Even if I thought I was right beyond a reasonable doubt I'd still not disregard what they had to say, or try to present my side as if it were the only side to consider. If they presented a better argument that I did then they won, and I tipped my cap to them. It was about what the actual story was, not just me-against-you. It wasn't a football game. Oh, and the people I loved to take down the most were the ones who thought they knew everything. It got in the way of the facts and I jumped all over that shit.
 There are a couple of people I'd love to debate and I've been saying that for years. The only thing is it'd have to be a proper situation. The basic unwritten rules were that you had to at least treat your opponent with respect, whether you felt it or not. You couldn't mock or insult your opponent, and things like that. In other words you had to behave in a dignified manner. I realize that times have changed along with people, and maybe it's old-school and gone the way of the dinosaur, but some people still think it's the way to behave.
 If you made a point and it was valid and truthful, and your opponent couldn't logically come up with anything to refute it, and knew it, they weren't allowed to do things like just taking an insulting jab at you just for the sake of staying against you. That would be a point off, if not outright disqualification. They couldn't have just said "I'm right and you're wrong because I say so." Of course nobody would have been stupid enough to say that in the first place. I realize that people debate in the real world and not under rules of the debate team. They're free to act toward their opponent in any manner they choose, good or bad. There's no officials to make sure they follow the rules and be respectful, if not polite, to their opponent, and at least be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt once in a while. That's a shame.