Jump to the Principle

This is a strategy I would enjoin upon those taking part in any debate. Jump to the principle. Don't get caught up in incidentals.

It came to me because I was watching a debate about the death penalty and the anti-death penalty side kept bringing the matter of racial discrimination into it. I wondered why the pro-death penalty side didn't ask: "If the death penalty could be applied without any racial discrimination, would you be in favour of it?"

This often occurs to me, as well, when it comes to the abortion debate. The pro-abortion lobby loves to concentrate on the question of rape and so-called "fatal foetal abnormalities". They should always be asked: "Are you saying those are the only situations where you consider abortion justified, and if not, why are you appealing to them?"