# Debated positions, large or small, which you're SURE you're right about **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 28, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086 "2010-05-28T16:51:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/1 "2010-05-28T16:51:12Z")
What are some positions or claims that are actively debated, with people honestly and passionately taking both sides of the issue, which you are absolutely positively 100% CERTAIN beyond any doubt that you are right about? (Please, let’s not start debating these issues here… if you want to do so, start a spinoff thread in GD, although of course it won’t go anywhere because you’re debating with people who are 100% CERTAIN they’re right). For me: -The proper order for reading **The Chronicles of Narnia** is publication order, not internal chronology - **Gay Marriage** should be legal - **Male Circumcision** as practiced in the US today is totally harmless, possibly slightly beneficial ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/2 "2010-05-28T16:57:10Z")
Gay Marriage also. Evolution happened - though it doesn’t get debated that much around here. None of the Earth’s religions are correct about God existing. Different from God not existing at all, just his Hairy Thunderer persona. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/3 "2010-05-28T17:35:43Z")
**Gay Marriage**. I cannot fathom how it possibly has any bearing on anyone’s lives other than the two parties involved and their kids. I don’t think churches have to allow it if they don’t want to, but millions of people get married every year without any hint of church involved so the whole “it’s against God’s will” argument is popycock. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/4 "2010-05-28T17:49:24Z")
**Male Circumcision is evil, but within the context that all multilation of children is evil - there’s nothing especially evil about it** **There is no objective right or wrong** **Prison sentences over 5 years are probably pointless** **Tax is theft** **There is no reason I should pay any deference at all to authority unless I have accepted said authority explicitly** **My word should be my bond** **Nothing is so sacred it can’t be joked about** **Animals should not be accorded any rights** **The future is probably going to be better than the past** ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/5 "2010-05-28T17:53:12Z")
Gay Marriage and gay rights overall. That there are limits to humanity’s use of the earth, and we’re on the brink of going over them (if we haven’t already). That as the guardians of animals, we have to be very careful how we treat them. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/6 "2010-05-28T17:58:46Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > -The proper order for reading **The Chronicles of Narnia** is publication order, not internal chronology I came to say this, and yes! We are indubitably right. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/7 "2010-05-28T18:04:50Z")
**There’re no such things as Good and Evil** , per se **Humans are 100% selfish** ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/8 "2010-05-28T18:08:31Z")
Support for gay marriage; and I strongly believe that America is diverging culturally (often called red state and blue state America) into what is essentially two different nations and that the process is irreversible at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/9 "2010-05-28T18:09:46Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > - **Male Circumcision** as practiced in the US today is totally harmless, possibly slightly beneficial I think it’s harmless from a physiological standpoint, but I believe unnecessary medical treatment is a bad thing - a pointless expense, and a pointless risk of complications. That said, I’m quite happy to be cut (I was born in the UK, where typically circumcision is only performed when medically necessary, or for religious reasons). I don’t support gay marriage. I support the right of gay and lesbian people to marry each other, but I’m not going to _encourage_ them to get married. That’s not a gay thing; I don’t tell my straight friends they ought to be getting married, either. I actively oppose legislation and other efforts to prevent gay folk from marrying. Evolution happened, and happens. We don’t fully understand the mechanisms involved on a micro level yet, but we’ve got the basics down. Free or extremely cheap healthcare should be available to all citizens, if their government can afford it. If you’re in the top 50 in terms of GDP per capita, your government can afford it. Private health insurance should be available to all citizens too, if they want to pay for it. The United Nations is neither a force for good, nor a force for evil. Its various constituent parts accomplish both. Anything wrapped in bacon becomes three times as delicious. ETA: Anyone who uses the term “family values” when constructing an argument is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/10 "2010-05-28T18:21:18Z")
The only conspiracy involved in the 9/11 attacks was the one between 19 terrorists who hijacked 4 airliners and the al-Queda members who helped plan and finance it. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/11 "2010-05-28T18:22:53Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > **Prison sentences over 5 years are probably pointless** > **The future is probably going to be better than the past** So, you’re absolutely certain that you’re probably correct? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/12 "2010-05-28T18:29:37Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > So, you’re absolutely certain that you’re probably correct? 😃 😃 Problem is I’m not certain about anything… at all… ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/13 "2010-05-28T18:39:34Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > 😃 > > Problem is I’m not certain about anything… at all… That would be my answer, except it’s never been debated. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/14 "2010-05-28T23:46:08Z")
Aborting a fetus is neither morally equivalent to murder, nor to clipping one’s fingernails, but somewhere in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/15 "2010-05-29T00:04:51Z")
> [@Happy\_Poster](#): > > **Male Circumcision is evil, but within the context that all multilation of children is evil - there’s nothing especially evil about it** > > **There is no objective right or wrong** > > **Prison sentences over 5 years are probably pointless** > > **Tax is theft** > > **There is no reason I should pay any deference at all to authority unless I have accepted said authority explicitly** > > **My word should be my bond** > > **Nothing is so sacred it can’t be joked about** > > **Animals should not be accorded any rights** > > **The future is probably going to be better than the past** Doesn’t your second contention contradict the first? ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/16 "2010-05-29T00:12:05Z")
Mixing patterns in an outfit is not fashion-forward, it is wrong. I have a co-worker who styles himself a fashionable person, and he’ll wear dark blue pants with a 3/4 inch cream pinstripe, a multi-colored mixed-stripe-size shirt (blues and oranges), and a paisley tie in a coordinating color (oranges and cream). Thats about one and a half patterns too many. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/17 "2010-05-29T01:06:15Z")
Life’s meaning and purpose are whatever we decide them to be. Governments cannot give or take away rights; they can only respect them or violate them. Rights just are. Free will exists. There is no rational basis for belief in a supreme being. Each of us is responsible for the content of our mind. ---
**Author:** ![ChickenLegs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@ChickenLegs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickenLegs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/18 "2010-05-29T02:51:11Z")
Gun control is both morally wrong and practically ineffective. Creationism is ridiculuous. Taxation is theft. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/19 "2010-05-29T03:02:57Z")
**Autotune can be used for good, the only reason people hate it is because it is so easily misused** ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086/20 "2010-05-29T03:04:25Z")
Vaccines are one of the greatest inventions known to mankind. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debated-positions-large-or-small-which-youre-sure-youre-right-about/541086.md?page=2)