[[!meta title="Resolutions"]] [[!toc levels=2]] Good resolutions are like gold: shiny, dense, ductile, malleable, and represented by the symbol __Au__. (Aurum? But I hardly even know him!) Have a resolution you think we should debate? Suggest it at one of our meetings! If you can't come, or think you'll forget by then, send it to the [Scriba](mailto:resoboobslution[AT]gmail[DOT]com). What we haven't used (yet): * Resolved: If you poke a hole in the condom, you're the father. * Resolved: Seduction is for animals. * Resolved: Seduction junction, what's yo' fucktion? * Resolved: I am VERY aroused. * Resolved: I am VERY seduced. * Resolved: I am VERY animal. * Resolved: If you have sex, the unicorn will get you. * Resolved: Incest is fun for the whole family. * Resolved: There is nothing manlier than gay sex. * Resolved: I appreciate a sizable posterior and I find myself on this matter quite unable to prevaricate. * Resolved: I'm not trying to be an asshole, really! * Resolved: They don't think it be like it is but it do ##Resolution Archive The following is a reverse chronological order listing of resolutions debated by the Philolexian Society: ###Fall 2018 * Resolved: Almonds are wood. *Passed* * Resolved: I'm proud of you, son. (Geezer Night) *Failed* * Resolved: Man is a featherless biped. *Failed* * Resolved: Let's unpack that. *Failed* * Resolved: Ma'am I'm here to fix your pipes. *Failed* * Resolved: I have earned these organs. *Failed* * Resolved: God is flat. *Failed* * Resolved: There's something up. *Passed* * Resolved: Your first time is always bad. *Passed* ###Spring 2017 * Resolved: Robocop would make a pretty good pope. *Passed* * Resolved: [[Banana Republic is a better name for a child than a clothing store.]] *Passed* * Resolved: [[In the context of cereal, milk is a sauce.]] *Failed* * Resolved: Plato is a hoax invented by Socrates to be the ultimate hype man and spec is in on it and actively covering this up. *Failed* * Resolved: I'm the most dateable person in this room. *Passed* * Resolved: Soft shell tacos are better than hard shell tacos. *Passed* * Resolved: You cannot teach an old dog the meaning of its own mortality. *Passed* * Resolved: If you die in Canada you die in real life. ###Fall 2016 ###Spring 2016 * Resolved: Bracket Stump Speech Resolution Generator * Resolved: Air quotes are "suspicious" *Passed* * Resolved: Bring back Feudalism *Passed* * Resolved: Hermit crabs are the most sociable of sea creatures *Passed* * Resolved: Twitter v. Bird *Failed* * Resolved: Dirigibles: Enough is enough! *Passed* * Resolved: Dinosaurs are a fraud *Failed* * Resolved: Not all knowledge is worth having *Passed* * Resolved: We are all entitled to three chickens *Failed* * Resolved: The bigger problem is that we are all stranded in the vacuum of space *Passed* * Resolved: Cards Against Humanity Stump Speech *Passed* * Resolved: Ignoring problems long enough makes them go away *Failed* * Resolved: Bromance is dead *Passed* * Resolved: Our jokes define our reality *Passed* * Resolved: Friends are a crutch for the weak *Passed* * Resolved: Shhh...Shhh...it's capitalism *Passed* * Resolved: Killing one bird with one stone should be enough for anyone *Passed* * Resolved: If fingers are lil' dicks your hands grow and fondle for themselves, dicks are big ol' middle fingers that your torso uses to show the world how it really feels. *Passed* * Resolved: Librarians vs. Libertarians *Passed* * Resolved: You thought it was paint but it ain't *Failed* * Resolved: Retirement is for quitters *Passed* ###Fall 2015 * Resolved: Being cool is better than being happy *Failed* ###Spring 2015 * Resolved: The Fall of the Soviet Union was a Hoax. * Resolved: Replace Congress with a Ouija Board. * Resolved: Marriage is a Sacred Bond Between a Man…and the Sea. * Resolved: It Is Not Okay to Be an Astronaut. * Resolved: Everything the Light Touches Should Be Mine. * Beat Poetry Night! * Resolved: SeaCaptainDate.com Stump Speech. * Resolved: Revenge Can Be Spectacular. * Resolved: [[Batman Is the Modern Day Hamlet]]. * Resolved: All Straights Are Dire. * Resolved: Resolutions created by Mr. Kirkenspock's resolution generator. ###Fall 2014 * Resolved: NSOP wasn't that bad. * Resolved: There is an objectively best sandwich. * Resolved: [[Ronald Reagan was a demi-god]]. * Resolved: Marriage is for the weak. * Resolved: End women's suffrage. * Resolved: Taylor Swift v. Jonathan Swift * Resolved: They can't send us ALL to detention. * Resolved: [[You should take candy from strangers]]. * Resolved: Fuck that one guy. * The 29th Alfred Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest * Professor Tea with Kate Zambreno * Resolved: [[Parental Advice Stump Speech]]. * Resolved: Human colonies on other planets— Yes? No? What kind? ###Spring 2014 * Resolved: We all need to stop trying so hard. * Resolved: Somebody should do something about all the Problems. * Resolved: America means never having to say you're sorry. * Resolved: Wordplay is better than foreplay. * Resolved: Social media is our greatest contribution to society. * Resolved: ... Hedonism is too exhausting (*sigh*). * Resolved: Being cool is better than being happy. ###Spring 2013 * Resolved: We all need to stop trying so hard. *failed* * Resolved: Somebody should do something about all the problems. *passed* * Resolved: Social ties are only useful for garnering power. *failed* * Resolved: The NSA would make the best boyfriend. *failed* * Resolved: America means never having to say you're sorry. *failed* * Resolved: Wordplay is better than foreplay. *passed* * Resolved: Social Media is our generation's greatest contribution to history. *failed* * Resolved: Science isn't real. *passed* * Resolved: Jenny Holzer Stump Speech. *passed* * Resolved: Hedonism is too exhausting. *failed* * Resolved: If life were a horror movie, I would be the first to die. *passed* * Resolved: Being cool is better than being happy. ###Fall 2013 * Resolved: Finders keepers applies to everything. *failed* * Resolved: Space Jam is a modern retelling of the Bible. *passed* * Resolved: [[We live in a dystopian future]]. *passed* * Resolved: [[Replace the Core with YA Lit]]. *passed* * Resolved: We only experience love because art tells us about it. *failed* * Resolved: America is for wimps. *passed* * Resolved: Goldman Sachs Elevator Twitter Stump Speech! *passed* * Resolved: Nothing good ever comes from an -ism *failed* * Resolved: Human communication is ruining social media. *passed* * Resolved: Halloween brings out our true selves. *passed* * Resolved: America is like a metaphor. *failed* * The 28th Alfred Joyce Kilmer Memorial Bad Poetry Contest * Resolved: Puns not guns. *passed* * Resolved: It's not real unless we remember it. *failed* ###Fall 2012 * Resolved: The Supreme Court should decide cases through trial by combat. * Resolved: The laws of nature do not apply to humans. * Resolved: Reality is a con run by white people. * Resolved: Art is the root of all suffering. * Resolved: It’s too late for Earth; we need to flee into space. * Resolved: If it can’t be bought, it’s not worth having. * Resolved: Technology can never increase human happiness. * Resolved: Suffering is preferable to boredom. * Resolved: Only obey good laws. * Resolved: Fuck the polis. * Resolved: Kanye West quotes stump speech. * Resolved: Superman is the American Jesus. ###Spring 2012 * Resolved: Occupation is the greatest American pastime. * Resolved: Any problem can be resolved by pretending it doesn’t exist. * Resolved: Trophy husband is a legitimate career aspiration. * Resolved: Dinosaurs are better than ghosts. * Resolved: Republican Primary stump speech. * Resolved: Replace the Euro with seashells. * Resolved: “They do it in the Bible” is a legitimate excuse for our moral failings. * Resolved: There is nothing wrong with heterosexuality. * Resolved: Art is good. * Resolved: I have the best face. * Resolved: Everyone is better off naked. * Resolved: If you eat it, it is food. * Resolved: Video games prepare people for healthy social interaction. * Resolved: Tradition is useless. ###Fall 2011 * Resolved: Children's television shows reflect the darkness of the human soul. * Resolved: Babies have no value. * Resolved: No good deed goes unpunished. * Resolved: Let justice be done though the world perish. * Resolved: Lowered expectations save lives. * Resolved: Time is a thing of the past. * Resolved: Helping the elderly prolongs their suffering. * Resolved: Rap lyrics stump speech. * Resolved: Romantic comedies provide useful dating advice. * Resolved: Too much of a good thing is wonderful. * Resolved: Humans have had their chance, let robots have a shot. * Resolved: The Christmas Miracle is more miraculous than the Hanukkah Miracle. ###Spring 2011 * Resolved: Capitalism is unnatural. * Resolved: Education is wasted on the rich. * Resolved: Revenge is always justified. * Resolved: The internet has permanently stunted human development. * Resolved: Everyone needs a nemesis. * Resolved: Words have lost their power. * Resolved: It is better to die with dignity than to live with shame. * Resolved: Nostalgia was better back in the day. * Resolved: With no power comes no responsibility. * Resolved: Stump speech—Julie Andrews edition. * Resolved: The moon should belong to America. * Resolved: Everything good will kill you. * Resolved: Facts are inconvenient. * Resolved: Immortality is undesirable. ###Fall 2010 * Resolved: [[Legalize murder.]] *Passed* * Resolved: [[Ms. Frizzle is a better science teacher than Bill Nye.]] * Resolved: [[Humanity has not earned the right to exist.]] * Resolved: [[Congress shouldn't make laws.]] * Resolved: [[Stump Speech]] * Resolved: [[Seduction is for animals.]] * Resolved: [[I am not a witch.]] * Resolved: [[Philosophers are just lazy scientists.]] *Passed* * Resolved: [[It's better if it's not your own.]] *Failed* * Resolved: [[All jobs are a form of prostitution.]] *Passed* * Resolved: [[We won;t be safe until every American owns a gun.]] *Failed* * Resolved: [[Tolerance is the downfall of civilization.]] *Failed* ###Spring 2010 * Resolved: If you're not offending someone, you're doing it wrong. *Passed* * Resolved: The best marriage is an arranged marriage. *Passed* * Resolved: Children are essentially worthless. *Passed* * Resolved: Science kills dreams. *Failed* * Resolved: Where words fail, fists prevail. *Passed* * Resolved: Humanity is the least successful species on Earth. (Geezer Night) *Failed* * Resolved: There is a God, He's just not that into you. *Passed* * Resolved: Friends don't let friends have sex. *Failed* * Resolved: The only alternative to boredom is insanity. * Resolved: 19th century child labor made the world what it is today. *Failed* * Resolved: Modern technology is interfering with human communication. *Failed* ###Fall 2009 * Resolved: Shame is the most important emotion. *Failed* * Resolved: An Ivy League education is only good for making other people feel stupid. *Failed* * Resolved: The South will rise again. *Failed* * Resolved: If I can't see it, it doesn't exist. *Failed* * Resolved: An overreaction is a better reaction. (Geezer Night) *Passed* * Resolved: Things will never get better. *Failed* * Resolved: I will fight a gorilla. *Passed* * Resolved: Death Panels are the American way. *Failed* * Resolved: It won't ruin the friendship. *Passed* * Resolved: Mo' money, mo' problems. *Passed* ###Spring 2009 * Resolved: Postmodernism is behind the times * Resolved: Fashion is not art * Resolved: Animal rights come at the expense of human needs * Resolved: Baby boomers are the worst generation ever (Geezer Night) * Resolved: First-year housing should be shittier * Resolved: The Holy Land should be returned to the British Empire * Resolved: Writing about music is like dancing about architecture * Resolved: I like my toast like I like my women * Resolved: The meaning of life is irrelevant * Resolved: Abortion is gay * Resolved: If you stop hoping and dreaming, Obama will die ###Fall 2008 * Resolved: Gay marriage isn't wrong, all marriage is wrong. * Resolved: What alcohol cannot fix is not a problem. * Resolved: College students are above the law. * Resolved: An addiction to elegance is a virtue, not a vice. * Resolved: Children's stories shouldn't end happily ever after. (Geezer Night) * Resolved: You're a commodity on the sex market, and your price is going down. * Resolved: Social science is to science as tofu is to food. * Resolved: The laws of science are unconstitutional. * Resolved: Carmen Sandiego is a positive female role model. * Resolved: Refrigerators make crime inevitable. * Resolved: Natural selection is over. We won! ###Spring 2008 * Resolved: The easy way is always the best way. * Resolved: [[Shooting people is bad.]] * Resolved: [[Pope v. Bear]] * Resolved: Bring back prohibition. * Resolved: All literature should be choose-your-own-adventure. * Resolved: Perspective solves everything. (Geezer Night) * Resolved: We only want what's bad for us. * Resolved: Murderers are an essential part of our ecosystem. * Resolved: Penguins deserve to fly. * Resolved: We are going to run out of reasons to live before we run out of natural resources. * Resolved: Art cannot be made intentionally. * Resolved: Having an embarrassing name is worse than having an embarrassing face. * Resolved: Roofies are for lazy fuckers. ###Fall 2007 * Resolved: Blogging is a bigger threat to our society than AIDS. * Resolved: Encourage stem-cell research to kill babies. * Resolved: BITCH SET ME UP! * Resolved: Madness and genius are separated by degrees of success. * Resolved: Offense taken at art is a sign of weakness on the part of the observer. (Geezer Night) * Resolved: Ugliness is the result of personal failure. * Resolved: Vegetarians don't care as much about animals as they say. * Resolved: Naked People are much hotter than clothed people * Resolved: Suffering Makes you Legitimate * Resolved: The detrimental effects of smoking do not outweigh how cool you look doing it. * Resolved: The 21st Century will be characterized by unceasing boredom. ###Spring 2007 * Resolved: If you say it loud, it's true. * Resolved: Everyone is an asshole when you get to know 'em. (Geezer Night) * Resolved: Student government is incredibly lame (a recurring special) * Resolved: The Dead Have It Better Than the Living. * Resolved: English is the Sexiest Language. * Resolved: Sacrilege is Subjective * Resolved: People on Welfare Rarely Fare Well. * Resolved: Parents have no business raising children. * Resolved: Monogamy is for Girls * Resolved: Change comes through the barrel of a gun * Resolved: Everyone Hates America Because We Are Fat ###Fall 2006 * Resolved: Organized sports are a greater threat to society than organized religions. * Resolved: Legalize marijuana; ban potheads. * Resolved: Children are our future...unless we stop them now! * Resolved: Somebody should do something about all the problems. * Resolved: It's miserable to be middle-class. * Resolved: Money is wasted on the old. (Geezer Night) * Resolved: Save us, not the whales. * Resolved: "Stop being a pussy!" is not offensive * Resolved: End Male Suffrage. * Resolved: Most problems solve themselves, given time and wilful ignorance. * Resolved: Science geeks are sexier than humanities geeks. * Resolved: Combat global warming by moving the Earth farther from the Sun. ###Spring 2006 * Resolved: Google has killed the search for truth * Resolved: April 20, 2006 * Resolved: April 13, 2006 * Resolved: Progress is measured in large explosions. * Resolved: Feminism killed chivalry. * Resolved: Property is theft. * Resolved: All history is black history. * Resolved: Let's get back to our roots and work the land. * Resolved: Humanity has killed natural selection. * Resolved: The human race will be extinct in our lifetimes. * Resolved: Words suffocate thought. * Resolved: Gender equality can only be achieved in deep space. * Resolved: Ignorance is strength. ###Fall 2005 * Resolved: Life will be better under the sea * Resolved: Everyone has culture... except white people. * Resolved: Faith is sexier than reason * Resolved: All history is biography * Resolved: The people who make interesting art are never interesting. (Geezer Night) * Resolved: There is no such thing as progress. * Resolved: The national debt should be lowered through the use of a fast-food tax. * Resolved: Love is biology masquerading as poetry. * Resolved: The Supreme Court Should Be Chosen By Lottery. * Resolved: Inheritance has no place in the capitalist system. * Resolved: “March of the Penguins” is the harbinger of the coming revolution. ###Spring 2005 * Resolved: Death is an Illusion * Resolved: April 7, 2005 * Resolved: Only the Grammatically Conscious Deserve a Home on the Internet * Resolved: End the Space Program * Resolved: There is no reason to do anything * Resolved: If you stole it, you've earned it. * Resolved: Conversation is a Dying Art (Geezer Night) * Resolved: Religion is the Stimulant of the People * Resolved: February 3, 2005 * Resolved: Shallow is the New Deep * Resolved: New York City is the True City of Brotherly Love (Special Philomathan visit debate) ###Fall 2004 * Resolved: Censorship is the highest form of flattery * Resolved: Chicks dig scrawny pale guys * Resolved: Vegans are lower on the food chain * Resolved: There is no habitat for humanity. * Resolved: We need more chlorine in the gene pool * Resolved: Minimalism is just another word for laziness * Resolved: Companies love misery * Resolved: Undergarments are so twentieth century * Resolved: Instead of killing imaginary monsters, just talk to people. * Resolved: Social cripples should get disability benefits. * Resolved: Suicide should be decriminalized. * Resolved: All the Iraqi interim government needs is an orientation week. ###Spring 2004 ###Fall 2003 Only Orientation through October 23, 2003 available * Resolved: We must strike now, while England is weak * Resolved: October 16, 2003 * Resolved: October 9, 2003 * Resolved: New York City should outlaw cars * Resolved: Successful plagiarism is creative writing * Resolved: History is written by the victors, but studied by losers * Resolved: The Coyote is a Far More Appealing Figure than the Roadrunner... In a Miltonian "Better to Rule in Hell than Serve in Heaven," Tragic, Rebellious Kinda Way. * Resolved: A jury has no more right to kill you than I do. * Resolved: The lemmings know something that we don't ###Resolutions culled from the Philo flyer archive of Thalia Robakis (Ca. 1999) * Resolved: Art is bunk * Resolved: Belief in God makes people do silly things and then yell at each other about it * Resolved: Mental masturbation is birth control for intellectuals * Resolved: Intelligence is an illusion; stupidity is all too real * Resolved: Sometimes it helps to have victims * Resolved: Old age is not worth sticking around for ###Resolutions culled from the Philo flyer archive of Adam Fields (Ca. 1994-1996) * Resolved: Agnosticism is a form of cowardice * Resolved: Barbie lives in spiritual impoverishment * Resolved: Blunders are worse than crimes * Resolved: Barnard girls are easy * Resolved: Conversio Virum should be readmitted to Earl Hall * Resolved: Dammit, we *should* be learning about dead, white males! * Resolved: Dr. Seuss should be taught in the Core Curriculum * Resolved: Fuck art, let's kill * Resolved: Give us back the Cold War * Resolved: Happiness is fleeting, pain is real * Resolved: Hate makes the world go 'round * Resolved: Hedonism is the highest form of education * Resolved: History is better than science, and always fucking will be! * Resolved: Human dignity is worth more than economic progress * Resolved: If you don't work, you shouldn't eat * Resolved: If you love somebody, set them on fire * Resolved: Insanity is no excuse for murder * Resolved: It's better not to ask * Resolved: Marriage is just a license to fuck legitimately * Resolved: More attractive people really are better * Resolved: Nothing beats tension like killing your neighbors * Resolved: Of all major religious figures, Buddha would have made the best DJ * Resolved: Only obey good laws * Resolved: Paranoia is better than apathy * Resolved: Republicans are the tools of satan * Resolved: Revenge is the poor delight of petty minds * Resolved: Science is more important than the humanities * Resolved: Self-worship is the only valid religion * Resolved: Some cultures deserve to perish * Resolved: Stop marching, get a gun * Resolved: Student government is amazingly lame * Resolved: Student government is still, once again, for the fifth smash year, amazingly lame * Resolved: Student government is still, perpetually, continually, and yet again for the sixth year, amazingly lame (it would appear that this meme, a staple of early April debates, began in April of 1990) * Resolved: The best form of government is no government at all * Resolved: The brothel is the touchstone of female empowerment * Resolved: The path to enlightenment leads directly through the Dorito(R) Aisle * Resolved: The proposed increase in class size will destroy the College * Resolved: The struggle to maintain identity is stronger than the desire to assimilate * Resolved: Tolerance of homosexuality should be taught in NYC schools * Resolved: Trust is out of style * Resolved: When in doubt, choose the more complicated solution * Resolved: Women already have equality * Resolved: Yield to temptation - it may not come your way again * Resolved: You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake