... I don't think the forum posts has changed anyones view...
That's not necessarily entirely true. Perhaps not our global view, turning liberals into conservatives and vice versa, or changing who we are voting for, but that is not the purpose of debate and education through debate. The purpose of debate is to broaden our horizons. That means expending our understanding of an issue to include different aspects and different perspectives, or at least being aware of it.
Debates often start with taking extreme positions on both sides, and good debates result in finding something in common and taking into account the opposing views. There is also an exchange of facts, not just opinions, some of which we may not have been aware prior to the debate. None of us is expert in all areas.
People like Farmer (Phil Brown) and James Clark, for instance (with apologies if I missed someone), are capable of presenting their cases clearly, supported by facts, logically, and mostly rather politely, to the point that expanded MY OWN understanding of the issue. There were instances were we totally agreed on a subset of an issue. It may not show immediately in the heat of the debate, both those different perspectives tend to sink in over time.
Debate is the only way of defusing extreme positions, so prevalent these days, and the best alternative to getting onto barricades and shooting each other.
