Washingtion, DC, Debatepedia completed on September 7th, 2009 an extraordinarily comprehensive resource outlining all the major pro and con arguments and quotations in the debate surrounding the public health insurance option in US health care reform. Debatepedia is a wiki encyclopedia of pro and con arguments and quotations in public debates around the world. It is essentially "the Wikipedia of pros and cons", aiming to "clarify public debates and decision-making globally". In the case of the debate on the public health insurance option in the United States, Debatepedia fully lives up to this mission.
Debatepedia's community of volunteer editors has worked for the past week in documenting nearly 100 unique pro and con arguments in the debate, drawing supporting quotations for each from over 50 pro and con editorials, opinion pieces, speeches, and political statements on the topic. The article is conveniently broken into over 14 sub-debate sections, where specific arguments and counter-arguments can be seen side-by-side. Without a doubt, the resource is the most comprehensive available on the topic. In a debate that has been marked by historic levels of animosity, vitriol, and hyperbole, Debatepedia's article is a refreshingly clear-sighted and thorough break-down of the legitimate arguments and counter-argument, making it easier for citizens and leaders to deliberate, draw conclusions, vote, and engage in their political communities.
Indeed, one of the problems Debatepedia and the article try to address is the fact that public debates are scattered between dozens and often hundreds of editorials, opinion pieces, political statements, speeches, essays and books. Because it is impossible for citizens to cross-compare or "weigh" the nearly 100 arguments and counter-arguments found in these resources, Debatepedia brings them together into a single resource where they can be weighed side-by-side. As Debatepedia's founder Brooks Lindsay has said, "the modern editorial and opinion-piece cannot adequately inform a citizens's decision-making. But, by centralizing the core arguments from dozens of these articles into a single distilled pro/con article, voters and decision-makers can deliberate much more effectively, and come to better conclusions and decisons."
Related links:
* Public health insurance option: http://wiki.idebate.org/
* Home page: http://wiki.idebate.org/
* Media kit: http://wiki.idebate.org/
Contact:
Brooks Lindsay
Founder
Debatepedia
3731 E Prospect
Seattle, WA, 98112
206-406-7558
brooks@debatepedia.com
http://wiki.idebate.org/
Twitter: brookslindsay, debatepedia
