Debate

     On Wednesday night I attended the debate over mental health care between the Texas State debate team and the UK International debate team.  Going into the debate I thought it would be very boring and not interest me very much, but I tried to stay interested in the debate.  As it turned out it was very interesting to me.
     The UK team was for government being in charge of taking care of the extremely mentally ill people.  Their plan was to have people who were dangerous to themselves and others around them taken to a panel of highly trained and skilled doctors for diagnosing and treatment options.  Once these people were given a diagnosis and a treatment they would be taken to a special place to be kept under watch where their family and friends could visit them (if they so desired).  Then once these people were said to have been cured, or deemed healthy enough to be on their own, they would be allowed to go back home.
     The Texas State team was against government having the main control over taking care of the mentally ill people.  They wanted the family of these mentally ill people to be in control of taking care and treating them.  They believed that a panel of doctors would be to distanced from the individual to know the best diagnosis and treatment for each particular person.  They also said that the families of these people would decide when they no longer needed treatment.
     Both sides had very good arguments and both sides stated their cases very well, but there was one very big issue in my mind that neither side addressed.  What about those people who don't have a family and may even be homeless, neither side came even close to addressing this issue which bothered me greatly.
     As with all debates there is a winner of the debate.  I am not sure who the official winner is yet but I know who won in my mind.  I believe that the pro-government team won the debate mainly because of their use of doctors to diagnose the problem and institute the best solutions to these people.  Both sides have pros and cons, but to me the pro-government option just made more sense.