Rhetoric, polemics, ratiocination

Unappealing as it may be to many of us, the study and practice of publicly defending ideas is just as unavoidable. It can be a humbling—even crushing—experience to go through when we're not prepared, so I'm offering up here a few recent examples worth watching. The first is No One Is Illegal-Toronto member Luam Kidane talking about Canadian immigration policy on SunTV on Tuesday (click through for video).

On Monday, the Daily Show's Jon Stewart debated Bill O'Reilly on Fox about President Obama's White House invitees.

Finally, from over forty years ago, here's Noam Chomsky staying calm and assertive against an obnoxious and condescending William F. Buckley while discussing US imperialism.

If you enjoy the Chomsky video, see also his debates with

• president of Boston University John Silber on Nicaragua (1986)
• Ronald Reagan adviser Richard Perle (1988)
• Alan Dershowitz on Israel/Palestine (2005)
• Australian politician Gareth Evans, more of a spat than a debate, while on a UN panel on the "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P) doctrine (2009)