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Zeta Alpha 12

validation-religion-cfhwksdr-pro02a

A shared day when there is no commercial activity encourages family life and recreation There is extensive evidence that reserving one day for communal recreation has benefits in areas as diverse as community cohesion and the reduction of childhood obesity. The Colombian initiative, Ciclovia, which closes some streets altogether on a Sunday has demonstrated impressive results in these areas in the thirty years it has been established. [i] An NOP consumer poll in 2005 showed that 85% of respondents in the UK suggested that they would rather have a shared day off for community, family and recreational activities than see shopping hours extended on a Sunday. Representatives of those employed in the retail sector routinely condemn the impact that Sunday trading has on the family lives of those required to work [ii] . [i] Hernandez, Javier C., ‘Car-Free Streets, a Colombian Export, Inspire Debate’, The New York Times, 24 June 2008 [ii] “USDAW lobbyists say extending Sunday shopping hours would be ‘bad news’ for shopworkers’ families” USDAW Press Release. 9 May 2006.

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For many marginalised workers the opportunity to work what many would consider antisocial hours is their only chance of employment. Legislating to enforce leisure time removes a valuable opportunity for earning. There are entire micro-economies based around this reality and it is unsurprising that marginalised individuals, families and communities operate within these sectors. As a result their leisure time is also shared. It is worth noting that were members of these groups excluded from the opportunity to earn would considerably diminish their capacity to enjoy any leisure time at all.

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Compelling employers to close for a day is the only way to ensure that marginalised groups are not forced to work a seven day week Unions consistently argue that vulnerable workers – migrants, part-time workers, the young and other groups – are simply unable to choose their leisure time at their own preference. It is unlikely that all members of a family all of whom are in such employment would be likely to have leisure time to share. It is simply a democratic principle that the right to an active family life and access to shared leisure should not be the preserve of the wealthy. This divide can only be met by enforcing a day shared by all members of society.

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Opposition is making an excellent argument for ensuring that workers should be remunerated at a level to support a reasonable level of existence but does not speak to the issue of keeping Sundays as a day of rest. Indeed it is possible to take the issue further and suggest that the understanding that everybody has the right to leisure time would require payment at such a level that would allow that time to be enjoyed. A work-life balance should not be defined purely in terms of time spent active and time spent idle. Rather, it must speak as much to time spent earning and time spent spending and relaxing.

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It is prejudicial to other religions to give Sunday a significance not ascribed to the holy days of other traditions It is already difficult enough for members of minority religions to have time for their own religious celebrations. It seems unlikely that employers would be likely to respect the rights of other religious groups to celebrate their own days of rest if employers were already compelled to recognise Sundays as a compulsory day of rest. Equally, for the state to identify one particular day as the ‘religious’ day worthy of commemoration would be a statement that one particular religious persuasion was in some way superior to others.

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It is simply unfair to force low-paid workers to lose a day’s work if they do not choose to do so Many people work long hours not out of greed or obsession but out of simple necessity. To deny people the right to work when they need to is unfair and, potentially, financially crippling. In an ideal world everybody would have a good work-life balance but that is not the reality faced by millions of workers, even in developed economies. Obliging workers to lose a day’s pay when that may impoverish then and their families is unlikely to enhance their family life, their level of relaxation, their spiritual experience or their access to leisure services.

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Different cultures have varying traditions of rest. Approaches towards the number of days of vacations taken each year, the length of the working day, which annual festivals should be treated as public holidays, siestas, work levels during Ramadan and so on are all taken on the basis of the culture and history of that particular country. As a result it is not unreasonable for a country with a Christian background to identify Sunday as their designated day of rest. The work ethic of any country relates to their history as is reflected in the festivals that are given significance. Observation of Christmas or Eid or Cheoseok has little to do with the personal values of the individuals concerned but rather the historical norms of that society.

validation-science-cihbdmwpm-pro02b

Realistically speaking, music is not even property - for property to really be property, it needs to be tangible (something physical you can touch). [1] If it is tangible, it is easier to keep you from using it, whereas when it is intangible, I can’t. What if you hear a song on the radio which stays in your head all day long because you liked it so much? In economic terms, we call such a good “non-excludable”. [2] Private property is both a rival good (see above), and excludable. The above shows that music is neither, even though we happen to call it “intellectual property”. That means that music can’t be private property, and copying it can’t really be theft in any normal sense of the word (see above). In addition, the moral right of the artist to be known as the author of a piece of music is also not broken by downloading. People usually sort the music on mp3-players by musician’s name, which means that we’re always recognizing that a certain artist made a certain song. [1] Law.jrank.org, ‘Theft – Larceny’, [2] Blakeley, Nic et al., ‘Non-excludability’, in The Economics of Knowledge: What Makes Ideas Special for Economic Growth, New Zealand Policy Perspective Paper 05/05, November 2005,

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A legal transaction is the only way to achieve free exchange of value Because the artist made the music, it is their property, in this case “intellectual property”. Property means that the owner/artist has the right to ask something from you in exchange for you gaining access to the music. This may be money. It may also be the requirement that you clearly recognize the artist’s moral right to always be mentioned as the creator of that music. This is called the “free exchange of value”, and this is the most fundamental relationship in our free market economy. Whatever the artist chooses as payment through a legal transaction, it is his/her basic right to ask this of you. The only way to make sure that he/she can actually exercise that right is by making sure you only take music from the artist through a legal transaction, i.e. with their permission. Only then can we be sure that the desired free exchange of value has taken place

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Theft always involves a thief taking something away for themselves with the result that the original owner can’t use it anymore. For example, if I steal your bike, you can’t use it anymore. And this is exactly why theft is wrong: you had something which you wanted to use, and now you can’t anymore, simply because I took it. That’s why downloading music is not theft because it is a form of copying. You download a copy from an original, but the first owner still has the original on his or her computer, and can still enjoy it. In more complicated terms: music files are “non-rival” goods, meaning that my use of the good does not diminish your future use of it. [1] [1] Investopedia, ‘Rival Good’,

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It is a mistake to think that when you’re downloading, there isn’t someone else making a huge profit. Torrent sites and other “pirate” sites gain huge amounts of income from the advertisements on their site. This means that they profit from material which is not theirs. Why should they profit from material they have gotten unfairly and without permission?

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Internet anonymity allows people to speak the truth without fearing harm to their careers People might do things online that can have negative consequences for their career. Think of ‘whistleblowers’ for example: whistleblowers are employees of a company that have direct and first-hand knowledge of their employer doing something illegal or immoral. If they speak out about it publicly, they might lose their job and therefore their sole source of income. Allowing them to speak out anonymously enables them to invite public scrutiny to their employer without fear of getting fired. [1] Or think of employers using social media in the job application process. Some people during adolescence (or in their student years) might ‘misbehave’ – where misbehaving can be something as relatively harmless as drinking a bit too much, then doing something silly and then having pictures of that end up on Facebook. Because Facebook doesn’t allow anonymity, this means future employers can easily trace someone’s adolescent shenanigans to a person they are currently considering to hire. Around 37% of companies admit to doing this and take what they find into account when hiring. [2] [1] IEEE Spectrum, ‘The Whistle Blower’s Dilemma’, april 2004. URL: [2] Webpronews, ‘Employers Are Still Patrolling Facebook, And Your Drunk Stripper Photos Are Why You’re Not Hired’. April 18, 2012. URL:

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Internet anonymity enables citizens to exercise their right to free speech Citizens have a right to speak their mind without government interference – which is why in the offline world people also have a right to speak anonymously. [1] Internet anonymity guarantees that people can actually exercise their right to free speech: anonymity takes away the fear of potential political consequences. The reason why governments are cracking down on internet anonymity is exactly this: they don’t like being criticized. For example, China recently introduced a bill requiring ‘real name registration’ of every Chinese internet user, thus hampering free communication and the airing of political dissident opinions. [2] Conversely, internet anonymity has helped in the Arab Uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia: people used anonymising software like TOR to come online and communicate, organize and criticize freely without fear of political repercussions. [3] [1] Electronic Frontier Foundation, ‘Anonymity’. URL: [2] Human Rights Watch, ‘China: Renewed Restrictions Send Online Chill’, January 4, 2013. URL: [3] University for Peace, ‘Tor, Anonymity, and the Arab Spring: An Interview with Jacob Appelbaum’, August 1, 2011. URL:

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Internet anonymity increases cyberbullying and trolling In normal social life, people restrain themselves in what they say to others. When anonymously online, people behave differently: whatever they say and do can be said and done without consequence, because it isn’t traceable to them as persons, or, as comic artist John Gabriel is often paraphrased 'Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Idiot’. [1] The consequences of this behaviour are ugly or downright harmful. Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games (MMPORGs) like World of Warcraft face a constant atmosphere of verbal abuse created by their players. And there’s worse than simple trolling like this: anonymity increases the effects bullying. For example, where schoolchildren originally were bullied in schools by bullies whose faces they knew, with online anonymity the bullying goes on anonymously online and invades every aspect of the victims’ lives – aggravating their suffering so much that in some cases they actually commit suicide, as for example did Canadian teenager Amanda Todd. [2] That’s why organizations maintaining online communities, whether they be social networking sites like Facebook, MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and newspaper sites like The Guardian should (legally) be required to (publicly) verify the person behind an account or take it offline if it remains anonymous, as New York senators recently proposed. [3] [1] The Independent, ‘Rhodri Marsden: Online anonymity lets us behave badly’, July 14, 2010. URL: [2] Huffington Post, ‘Amanda Todd: Bullied Canadian Teen Commits Suicide After Prolonged Battle Online And In School’, October 11, 2012. URL: [3] Wired, ‘New York Legislation Would Ban Anonymous Online Speech’, May 22, 2012. URL:

validation-science-cpecshmpj-con02a

We should not be encouraging interest in material things Mobile phones are a part of a desire to keep up with fashion and friends. We all want the biggest and the best. Mobile phone companies know this and regularly bring out flashy new models that are immediately the one everyone must have. The more children have mobiles the more are caught up in this fashion. Our compulsion to want new things all the time is not good for us. Mobile phones, as with many other electronics, are damaging to the environment. Since we buy them and often dispose of the phone only a couple of years later they pile up in gigantic rubbish dumps. Mobile phones are clearly a luxury not something that everyone should have, and we certainly should not keep buying new ones.

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Something being a luxury does not mean it is not something everyone should have. The effect on the planet is minimal and can be reduced if we recycle any phones that we are going to throw away. It would certainly best for the planet if we did not keep buying upgrades but this is not necessary for every child to have a mobile phone.

validation-society-gfhbcimrst-pro02b

First off, it is quite possible the gender ratio imbalance is not as large in China as it is thought to be because many families do not register their female children in order to circumnavigate the one-child policy. Proposition thinks that trafficking will decrease under their policy. We would argue that it would increase or at the very least not decrease. These atrocities take root when a society finds more value in women as economic objects than as people. The cash transfer scheme does little to increase women’s value as people but explicitly and dramatically increases their value as economic objects. This plan does not reduce or create any disincentive for exploitation of women or girls, but it does guarantee a revenue stream from doing so In some traditional cultures, women are used as tender to settle debts, through forced marriages, or worse. Presumably the cash transfers are to the families, not the girls themselves. This reinforces the powerlessness of women relative to their families and only reinforces their families' potential gain from economic exploitation. With the addition of cash, there would be an increased incentive reason to exploit this renewable resource. We on side Opp feel that this behaviour is dehumanizing and deplorable and the risk of increased objectification and exploitation is, by itself, sufficient reason to side with the Opposition. A higher female birth rate is not a good in of itself if these women are likely to be mistreated worse than the current female population as it is not only life we value but quality of life and it is surely unethical to set policies that will increase the number of people being born into lives of discrimination.

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We agree that a policy to ban abortion is not conducive to the encouragement of women’s rights. We would argue, however, that more rigorous policing of prenatal gender determination could be effective. For example, an amnesty could be issued for handing in of illegally used ultrasound devices, possibly even with a financial reward for turning these in. Further investigation could be made into rumours of places where one might access prenatal gender determination. It may be difficult but all crime detection is difficult but we do it because it is important. Propaganda has been known to change age old ideas. It is an extremely powerful force. China has shown the power of propaganda through its censorship of the internet, protectionist policies in the film industry and control of print and radio media which help ensure that the Communist party stays in power. Of course, propaganda can also be used to create positive effects. What’s important to note about propaganda is that it takes time. Propaganda in South Africa which aims to encourage the use of condoms and greater HIV awareness is only now beginning to work after ten years of running such campaigns. New infections in the teenage age group (the age group most exposed to HIV awareness particularly through schools) have decreased. [1] There is no reason why this cannot be a very effective tool in changing people’s mindsets about gender. Furthermore, some of the changes in society will happen naturally as countries like China and India develop. As more women are educated and get jobs, people will start to realise women’s value and women will probably have more influence in the decision of whether or not to go through with a pregnancy. It is a historical trend that nations offer more freedoms and they become more economically developed. [2] Wealth leads to liberalisation and greater exposure to western ideals. [1] “HIV/AIDS in South Africa.” Wikipedia. [2] Mosseau, Michael, Hegre, Havard and Oneal, John. “How the Wealth of Nations Conditions the Liberal Peace.” European Journal of International Relations. Vol. 9 (2). P277-314. 2003. “HIV/AIDS in South Africa.” Wikipedia.

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We do not disagree that abortion is a generally undesirable thing. Even those who believe that abortion is ethical feel it would be preferable not to have an unwanted pregnancy in the first place. It may be very distressing for mothers if they have not made an autonomous choice to go through with the abortion but the proposition is wrong to assume that they have not. Cultural biases towards male children are often internalised by women. It makes sense that both mothers and fathers would be concerned about who will care for them in old age – not just men. Men and women from the same socio-economic and cultural background are also likely to have similar ethical views and therefore are unlikely to disagree on their ethical standpoint on abortion. Therefore, it is not the case that women suffer because they are forced or coerced into abortions. Furthermore, this is not a problem exclusive to gender selective abortion. Whilst there is a greater prevalence of abortions of female babies, there are a lot of abortions of male babies as well. Assuming that abortion does cause women a lot of distress, this harm will not be removed by encouraging parents to have girls because they will continue to abort male foetuses. The solution for this problem is to educate people about alternative methods of contraception so that unwanted pregnancies do not occur and also to empower women in their marital relationships by encouraging them to have their own income and so on. This can be better targeted by self-help women’s groups and the like.

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Commodifying women. Surely providing a financial incentive for families to produce women causes women to be likened to a product that needs to be manufactured. Families will continue to have a social stigma against female children and they will be viewed simply as a financial asset. This is not only bad for women in general in the country but for babies that are only alive because they provide income. These children are unlikely to be loved and cared for as a male child might be and it is cruel to encourage them to be brought into the world to live life in such a condition. Furthermore, the commoditisation of money can only serve to worsen the problem of trafficking mentioned earlier by the proposition.

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Autonomy (Please note that this argument cannot be run in conjunction with argument four as they are contradictory) 42% of the Indian population is under the international poverty line and it is they that contribute the most to imbalanced sex ratio due to economic concerns. [1] Offering a financial incentive for people to produce female children will undermine the autonomy of parents. In order for there to be autonomy, the individual needs to be able to make a rational, unforced decision. When someone is extremely impoverished, as many people are in developing economies like those of China and India, financial incentives are an offer that cannot be refused. Proposition would have you believe that we offer the parents an autonomous choice between having a female child and receiving money or not having the child and not receiving money. Of course they will take the money! Poverty removes the possibility of choice. In this way, poor parents are being forced to have female children to ensure their own survival and the survival of their already existing family. Why is this problematic? Firstly, we believe choice is intrinsically valuable because the freedom to make choices is recognition of our fundamental humanity and individuality. If we cannot determine our own futures we are slaves. We value choice so much that we sometimes allow it when it risks causing wider social problems. For example, we allow people to smoke or eat unhealthily even though this may cost the health system a lot of money. Secondly, people have the most empirical information about themselves and are therefore able to make the best choices for themselves. For example, a family may know that they do not have the space in their home or the time to raise another child. They may know that a boy will be better able to support the family financially later on because he will be more likely to get a job and in some cases this may even override the financial benefits offered by government. These are all important considerations that only individual families are able to take into account. A government is unable to know each family’s individual situation and therefore is not well suited to make this decision in place of the family. [1] Poverty in India.” Wikipedia.

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Financial incentives do not break down cultural bias The reason why there is a bias towards male children in India is cultural. When women get married in India they become a part of their husband’s family and a dowry must be paid. As one Hindu saying goes, "Raising a daughter is like watering your neighbours’ garden." In order to change the gender ratio imbalance in India, therefore, it is important to deal with the underlying prejudices in society, not merely throw money at the problem. There are similar cultural prejudices in other countries with gender disparities. In China there is concern that female children cannot continue the family name as lineage is something male. A good case study of a place where financial incentives have not altered the social climate regarding reproduction is Germany. Germany Kindergeld policy is particularly generous, giving 184€/month for 1 child and 558€/month for 3 until the children are at least 18 (regardless of gender). This is very similar to the Proposition plan but the birth rate has declined. In German culture there is a bias towards having fewer children and instead pursuing career but this cultural bias was not overcome by financial incentives. The Germany Ministry of Statistics reported that the birthrate in 1970, 5 years before Kindergeld began, the birthrate per woman was 2.0. In 2005, despite ever increasing Kindergeld, the rate had dropped to 1.35. This trend is mirrored across all other European nations. [1] Of incredible significance is that the decline in birth rates is relatively even across all socioeconomic groups in Germany, indicating that even people with a low or no income do not have children for the sole purpose of receiving more money. In order for the gender ratio to be rebalanced we need to do more than just offer money to parents who produce girls. Governments often set blanket policies without coming to grips with the problems on the ground. It is likely that the problem is slightly different in different parts of China and that it has a far more intricate, psychological nature than proposition supposes. Cultural biases are taught to children from birth through everything language to observations of how their parents behave and these biases are internalised at a very young age. It is difficult to see how years of immersion in a culture can be overturned in adulthood by nothing more than the offer of money. There are probably more detailed reasons why male children are greater financial assets that government is not aware of. Perhaps in certain communities the prevalent industry requires strong male workers or refuses to employ females and this financial incentive will override the incentive proposed in propositions argument. In short, a blanket government policy will be unable to deal with the intricacies of the problem and a financial incentive may simply be the wrong approach. [1] “Child Benefit Germany.” Wikipedia.

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The proposition policy will interfere with current government policies Prop's plan is not only redundant with some current government programs but is also wasteful of worthwhile government funds. For example, the plan pays for the education of young girls up through the high school level. This is targeting a problem that has been addressed with significant success. Currently, the rates for primary school enrolment among young girls and young boys are 94% and 97% respectively in 2007. This is a drastic change from the year 2000 when it was 77% and 94%, a 17% disparity. [1] Additional policies in the same area are inefficient and the additional bureaucracy risks disrupting this positive trend. There are currently at least 27 ministries in the Indian government (account for almost 5% of total budget expenditure) that are allocated to providing programs for female empowerment, and of these most are taking a targeted approach that identifies actual needs within communities. [2] [2] Side Prop does not tell us how their plan will be different than any of these existing plans. At best, Prop's plan is likely to be redundant when combined with existing policy and therefore a waste of money. At worst, it will work against established, valuable programs and actively cause harm. More importantly, the fact that girls are attending schools in these numbers and yet a sex-ratio imbalance exists and has in fact worsened proves that better education for women does not solve or improve the problem of sex selective abortion. Therefore, prop’s policy of providing education grants is redundant. [1] World Bank, ‘Adjusted net enrolment rate. Primary’, data.worldbank.org, [2] Ministry of Women and Child Development, ‘Gender Budgeting in India,

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Ineffectiveness The policy will be ineffective in two ways. Firstly it will not even achieve the goal of a balanced gender ratio but secondly, even if it did, it will not reduce the divide between men and women and make women a more valued part of society. 1. How does this plan offer advantages to the families of girls in excess of what is already available? The Indian parliament's most recent budget includes several programs designed to increase the resources, specifically including medical and educational resources, available to women and children. Programs exist to provide education to women [1] . Most importantly where do these financial incentives come from? India is currently committed to cut budget deficits especially since “General government debt now stands at 82% of GDP.” [1] 2. The plan proposed by Prop will simply exacerbate resentment of women by men who see taxpayer funds preferentially directed towards women. Men will take this resentment out on the women in their lives.. It’s possible that in some cases, female children will be more valued for the money they bring in from the government than for their own personhood. We understand that some extent of financial or social benefits is necessary to redress historical oppression, but whenever possible, governments should seek to end gender-inequality by utilizing gender-neutral policies rather than picking sides. Widespread economic development will reduce the need for poorer families to select the sex of their children based on who can bring in the most income and therefore the gender ratio will begin to balance out without implementing discriminatory policies that create anger. A perfect example of how discriminatory policies in the name of redress can create social divides is affirmative action in South Africa. Post-apartheid has an policy name Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) according to which companies gain benefits and status by fulfilling a certain race quota amongst their employees. South African universities accept black students with lower marks than white students in order to try to rebalance the demographics of the university. This means it is increasingly difficult for white people in South Africa to find jobs. Many white people feel resentful towards the beneficiaries of BEE and there is very aggressive debate at universities between white and black students as to whether racially based admissions policies are fair. If anything these policies have divided South Africans. [2] A discriminatory race policy in China and India will have much the same effect and therefore will not achieve its aims of addressing gender inequalities. [1] Prasad, Eswar. “Time to tackle India’s Budget Deficit.” The Wall Street Journal. 2010. [2] Mayer, Mark. “South Africans Continue to Seek Greener Pastures.” Sharenet Marketviews. 2008.

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Western nations are not as powerful as they would like to think. Their “soft power” cannot propagate norms as effectively as they would like to think. The dominance of Western countries in institutions does not put them in a place of great influence, but rather puts them in a place to be accused of imperialism and exploitation. The West’s preaching to the rest of the world is not seen as constructive or admirable advice by the rest of the world, but rather is viewed as “moral arrogance” and cultural imperialism. It is highly unlikely that most places will change their laws because someone tells them that they do not agree with them, especially when those laws are rooted in a deeper moral or religious obligation. Moreover, with the hypocritical nature of this particular policy due to countries like the USA not respected homosexual rights either, it is very easy to dismiss this policy as the West simply being hypocritical and telling the developing world to “do as I say, not as I do” and thus is easy to dismiss it as unimportant.

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This policy of asylum pressures governments to reform discriminatory laws This will help change practices of sexuality-discrimination in nations across the world. One of the most effective ways to engage the international community on swift action to protect certain rights is to make a clear, bold statement against a particular type of behaviour. By acting to not just condemn a certain behaviour, but actively circumvent states’ ability to carry out such a behaviour, the international community sends a message of the unacceptability of such practices. Moreover, and more importantly, regardless of if the countries are persuaded into agreeing with the international community on the issues of LGBT rights, this action will still change state behaviour. This will happen for two reasons: Fear of sanction and condemnation. Most countries in the world are heavily interdependent and specifically dependent on the West. Falling out of popularity with Western countries and their populations is a particularly risky situation for most countries. An action such as this signals seriousness of the international community on the issue of sexual orientation equality and can be used as an influential tool to convince leaders to liberalize sexual orientation laws. Loss of internal support. One of the biggest losses a leader can have in terms of democratic support and the avoidance of violent unrest is being seen as impotent and weak. When the international community effectively sets up a system of immunity to your country’s laws and is more powerful is protecting people and helping people avoid the laws of your country than you are in implementing them, you lose face and integrity in the eyes of your constituents. This can make leaders look weak and incapable of administering justice and fulfilling the needs of society. Furthermore, it makes leaders seem weak and subservient to the rest of the world, removing perceived legitimacy. This loss of legitimacy and support is a major consideration for state leaders. As such, a declaration of an asylum policy for sexual orientation can persuade leaders into changing their anti-homosexuality laws to avoid asylum being granted to people from their country to save face and continue to look strong and decisive as a leader and avoid the damage such a policy would do to their rhetoric of strong leadership. The best example of this is that due to strong and vocal condemnation of the Bahati Bill in Uganda which would have imposed the death penalty for the crime of homosexuality, the Cabinet Committee rejected the bill [1] . Therefore, this policy is instrumental in changing state behaviour towards sexual orientation and making the first steps towards acceptance and ending discrimination. [1] Muhumuza, Rodney. "Uganda: Cabinet Committee Rejects Bahati Bill." allAfrica.com 08 May 2010.

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As explained in counterargument two, it is highly unlikely that countries will craft policy based on the preaching of the West. Moreover, it becomes increasingly unlikely that countries will be receptive to discussions on liberalization of their policies on sexual orientation when the West outright condemns their views as immoral and abhorrent and takes active steps to stop them from enforcing what they see as their moral laws on their populations.

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There has yet to be an international consensus forged around LGBT rights and state treatment of sexual orientation. Many countries around the world are not secular Western Liberal Democracies and operate on a completely different moral standard than the West does. Many religions, and in fact state religions, do not recognize homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle and specifically see it as a sin and a crime against the religious authority they uphold. It is not the West’s role to tell the rest of the world what their morality should be. There is not even consensus amongst Western Liberal Democracies on this issue. The United States of America still does not recognize homosexuals as deserving of equal rights to heterosexuals and many states do not allow gay marriage or gay adoption as a result [1] . The west cannot circumvent the laws of other countries when they themselves do not even hold themselves to the legal and moral standard they would like to impose on others. [1] Law, Jeffrey R., and Justin H. Phillips. "Gay Rights in the States: Public Opinion and Policy Responsiveness." American Political Science Review. 103.3 (2009): Print.

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As explained in counterargument two, the rationale behind this form of discrimination is nonnegotiable and absolutist due to its religious/moral nature. Consensus-building will not happen in the near future on this issue and even if the potentiality of social acceptance of the LGBT community was in the not-so-distant future, this does not offer any protection to those in danger now, nor remove our obligation to their protection from discrimination and unjust punishment.

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Insofar as asylum exists, there is therefore a situation where the opposition would consider it okay to impede on sovereignty for a purpose of protection of individuals. The question is therefore about not if sovereignty can be infringed upon, but rather if this situation fits the criteria to do so. The banning of homosexuality is not a legitimate point of view to impose on society through legislation. It is discriminatory to do so as sexual orientation is not a choice, it is a natural occurrence like race, gender, ethnicity etc. An individual has no control over their sexual orientation and therefore any legislation on it is discriminatory and unjust. This means that no one should have to follow that law, and more importantly, should not face punishment for it, as punishment in this situation is simply just the application of discrimination. This is the “last resort” as the opposition would put it. When the state- the only people in the protection to use coercive force to protect individuals in society from harm and persecution. When the state refuses to protect individuals from vigilantism in society, or, in many cases, are the ones actively endangering them, external intervention is the only feasible protection.

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This policy breaks down important inter-governmental dialogue on LGBT rights This policy damages international discourse and progress in LGBT rights. This policy makes it very unlikely that governments will be willing or receptive to discussions on liberalization of their LGBT laws and policies. Discourse and compromise only happens when both sides of the debate accept the validity of the other person holding the view that they do. If the West outright rejects the views of other nations as “immoral” or “unacceptable” these nations are unlikely to want to engage with the West on these issues as they feel that their opinions will not be respected or be treated fairly or equally. You effectively remove these countries from the negotiating table when you do this. This can be illustrated by countries deemed “backwards” or “immoral” such as Iran and North Korea, who become more isolationist the more they are categorized as and rejected for being “evil” or “unacceptable.” Construction engagement does not begin with the rejection of the other viewpoint’s right to be on the negotiating table. Moreover, you create an antagonistic relationship between the West and those nations with anti-homosexual laws that hinders further discussion on the issue. By dealing with LGBT treatment in this manner, you effectively brand all acceptance of homosexuality as “Western”. This makes the concept of acceptance for the LGBT community nearly mutually-exclusive with religiously conservative nations or nations who have a historical and national narrative that dislikes the West and the concept of imperialism.

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This policy undermines the grassroots movements that are necessary for full and sustained protection of the LGBT community Lasting change to anti-homosexual attitudes will only happen from the ground-up. This hinders the ability of governments to engineer more accepting attitudes toward the LGBT community. Even if you could get countries to discuss their policies and liberalize them through this policy, this will not actually change the reality for the LGBT on the ground. Nations where anti-homosexuality laws are in place have large swathes of support for these laws as they represent and enforce the morality of the vast majority of their populace. Simply removing anti-homosexuality laws does not protect homosexuals in their home countries. Simply not being pursued by the government does not mean the government is willing or able to protect individuals from society. Moreover, it makes it nearly impossible for the government of that country to try to liberalize and engineer a more LGBT-friendly attitude in their country if they have submitted to Western pressures. Populations feel abandoned by their governments when they no longer reflect or uphold their wishes and what they view as their moral obligations. The government loses its credibility on LGBT issues if it abandons its anti-homosexual platform and thus cannot moderate or attempt to liberalize such views in the future. This simply leads to people taking “justice” against homosexuals into their own hands, making danger to homosexuals less centralized, more unpredictable and much less targeted. A perfect example of this is in Uganda where the government’s “failure” to implement a death penalty for homosexuality led to tabloid papers producing “Gay Lists” that included people suspected of homosexuality [1] . The importance of this is two-fold. First, it shows that vigilante justice will replace the state justice and thus bring no net benefit to the LGBT community. Second, and more importantly, it means that the violence against LGBT individuals is no longer done by a centralized, controlled state authority, which removes all pretence of due-process and most importantly, makes violence against homosexuality become violence against suspicion of homosexuality. Thus, making it an even more dangerous place for everyone who could associate or in any way identify with what are viewed as “common traits” of the LGBT community. [1] "Gay Rights in Developing Countries: A Well-Locked Closet." The Economist. 27 May 2010.

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Sponsorship also contributes to all aspects of life. This includes drinking water, food, education, medical care, shelter and sanitation - often charitable donations are more specific (they only provide for one of these aspects of life). By putting children at the heart of charity programs it is hoped that a stronger foundation will be made for the future - the young people who are helped today can maintain a better lifestyle in the future [8]. Giving all this to an individual child also produces more tangible results than giving to a vast organisation, whose work is can often over-ambitious and more open to corruption [9].

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We need to address the causes of poverty rather than treat the symptoms (outward signs). There are better ways to help people. Helping single children, or even villages, treats the symptoms of poverty - it makes life better for a small minority. It does little to address the actual causes of poverty such as war, unclean water, bad government, HIV/AIDS, unfair world trade rules, etc. As these statistics show the problems of poverty and disease are truly massive in scale, and even if many thousands are helped by sponsorship schemes, many millions more are still left with nothing. If we really want to help lift people out of poverty for good, we should give to charities which focus on these bigger development issues - for example Christian Aid believes that “it is better to help whole communities through our partner organisations rather than sponsor individuals" [16]. We should also join campaigns to make rich world governments do more to help the developing world by increasing spending on aid [17], forgiving debt, and making the global trade rules fairer for developing countries.

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Sponsorship is often more about the intentions of the donors rather than the needs of poor children. Some schemes have a clear cultural and religious motive – a desire to give aid in such a way that it will affect and even impose (force) foreign ideas onto a vulnerable (weaker) society. Any organisation that has such a clear overlap between their own ideas of faith [19] and the practical side of helping people is ultimately imposing its ideas onto people without giving them any choice in the matter. Families may even come to think that they have to show belief in order to keep receiving sponsorship. For example, sponsored children may be encouraged to send cards at Christmas, even if they are not Christians. At the end of the day this comes down to a very serious question of choice – many would argue that by offering aid with the intention of turning children into adult Christians [20], organisations like “Compassion” are effectively manipulating charity into part of a conversion campaign.