This reminds me of a phenomenal Radiolab episode, on how a team of black students managed to turn the tables on teams that were effective at "spreading" [1]. I think the author alludes to this:
> Some debaters even began refusing to debate the resolutions altogether, formulating elaborate theoretical and critical arguments that were, at best, tenuously linked to the topic they had been given.
I do pretty much agree with the author though. Everything has become a game and we've completely lost sight of the fact that we're ultimately trying to build a better society. It's a big part of why I stopped identifying with political labels. Although, as always, I'm suspicious of the concept that there ever were "good old days".
> Some debaters even began refusing to debate the resolutions altogether, formulating elaborate theoretical and critical arguments that were, at best, tenuously linked to the topic they had been given.
I do pretty much agree with the author though. Everything has become a game and we've completely lost sight of the fact that we're ultimately trying to build a better society. It's a big part of why I stopped identifying with political labels. Although, as always, I'm suspicious of the concept that there ever were "good old days".
[1] https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/audio.wnyc.org/radi...