“Just stick your gum under your desk. It beats carrying it around in a
wad of paper.” Because I agree with the words of a middle school friend and
believe that no social stigma should be placed around the disposal of chewing
gum, I must affirm the advice that used chewing gum ought to be stuck under a
desk.
Before moving on, I must define the key terms in the resolution:
Chewing gum, commonly referred to as
“gum” is a sweetened and flavored insoluble plastic material used for chewing. Ought
is a term used to express duty or moral obligation. Stick means to fix
something on. A desk is a piece of furniture with a
flat or sloped surface and typically with drawers, at which one can read,
write, or do other work.
Based on the values and ideas found
within the advice, morality emerges as a value premise because based on our
definition of “ought,” we are trying to uphold a moral standard. The appropriate value criterion for the round
is the preservation of individual comfort because an individual can only be
required to further his or her own well-being.
My first contention states that holding
gum wrapped in “a wad of paper” diminishes the comfort of the individual. Firmly
grasping an object for extended periods of time can result in moderate to
severe cramps of the forearm and hand. Given that the vast majority of the
population unconsciously caries objects in their dominant hand, cramps can be
debilitating to a student. Because we are morally obligated to further
education, which, in turn, furthers the life-long comfort of the individual
student, we can not require students to go to any lengths to dispose of chewed
gum.
My second contention states that no significant harm can come from dried
gum. According to Reddit user
wikipedialinks, who has some credible education background, when asked if any
health risks can be associated with dried gum, he states, “Assuming [the gum] came from a healthy person, once it
was dry it wouldn't pose substantially more risk than the table.” Rather than
concern ourselves about the harmless activity of sticking gum under a desk, we
should ask ourselves about the environment we send our children into to learn.
Rather than worry about dried gum, we should worry about the unhealthy students
and possibly unsafe desks surrounding our students.
My third contention states that chewed gum should be easily
available in times of emergency. As seen in many cartoons, in our short lives,
we will probably be faced with a situation in which a dam is punctured and it
is up to us to save the world from flooding. In this situation, an obvious and
readily available tool would be chewed gum. When moistened, gum creates the
perfect, flexible solution to plugging dams. The availability of chewed gum is
a moral choice between life and death. We must fulfill our obligations to preserving
individual comfort by stopping any harm from coming to us, as individuals.
In closing, by examining that holding onto gum creates unnecessary
discomfort for the individual, no harm can come from dried gum, and gum can
help in times of emergency, we see that preserving individual comfort surfaces
as the main way to uphold the value premise of morality. Therefore, I must affirm the advice that used chewing gum ought to be stuck under
a desk. I now stand ready for cross-examination.
