I’ve been thinking about musings below on fostering dialogue across the pro- and anti- sides of the Iraq debate. In the words of Xander Harris: “I think I’m having a thought. Yes, it’s definitely a thought… no, wait: now I’m having a plan!”
Here’s the idea:
– Have two blogs, one each for the pro- and anti- side, set up as points of coordination for planning a cross blog debate.
– On each coordination blog, solicit input from any & all who are interested to create a list of questions (let’s say, five of them) for the opposite side of the debate to answer. Example: the pro- side might pose the following question to the anti-side: “What, specifically, would U.N. inspectors need to find in Iraq for you to support military action against Saddam Hussein’s regime?”, while the anti-side might in turn ask “Is there any possible result of the current inspections that would convince you to oppose military action against Iraq?”
– Narrow down the list of submitted questions however you like; democratic vote or by fiat by the coordination blogger; whatever.
– Once the lists of questions are finalized, open season begins: anyone who is interested in joining the debate can simply go ahead and post their responses to the appropriate set of questions on their own blog.
– Finally, the coordination blogs can post a roundup of all the various responses to the debate so folks can browse through them all. From there, I think the process becomes natural: the responses will themselves breed counter-responses, and so on.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Interest? If you think this is a worthwhile endeavor, and would be willing to participate, please drop a “yeah” into the Comments section.