I Have a Pledge to Make. Who Will Join Me?

[MFrohike]

156. My understanding

It's a caricature of an actual argument made by an opponent. It intentionally misses the point so as to make it easier to defeat the opponent. The GOP debates are FULL of them, especially when the others talk about Ron Paul on foreign relations. I've never heard old Ron talk about surrendering or bowing down to anyone, but to hear the others tell it, Ron would sign away the Declaration in order to make foreigners happy. It's a very dishonest form of argument that is all about missing the point in order to avoid addressing difficult realities. Incidentally, please don't read this as a defense of Ron Paul. The most recent debate was only a few days ago and it's fairly fresh in my mind.

The word strawman is bandied about a lot on this site. It isn't used to refute actual strawmen, it's used to shut off debate. Honestly, if someone feels they've argued a given point enough times and don't feel like doing it again, just say that. I don't think we can ever ask for civility in debate without honesty. I don't mean that masters' theses need to be written for each post, I just mean that the writer should be honest in their writing. I'm getting vague here, so I should stop. I'm a big believer in honesty and courtesy. My plea is for people to be courteous and honest when they write, not simply dismissive in order to reduce the opponents' credibility and avoid having to make an actual argument.