American politics debates I: Trump promises, NAFTA and the electoral college

The US has been the most powerful nation in the world for many decades. American politics has great importance not only for US citizens but also for most people around the globe. The policies and dictates from Washington usually have direct or indirect effects on many countries.
The inaugural speech of Donald Trump on 20 January 2017 was followed by millions of people inside and outside America. Many were happy, others were disappointed with the plans of the new President of the United States.

After our selection of online debates on animal rights and protection Today we launch a series of posts which compile some of the most interesting online debates on American politics. On The Best Debates we keep a neutral role. Our goal is not to support any specific political agenda but to invite people to engage critically with important issues through constructive public debate.

These are the first 3 debates we suggest:

• Will Donald Trump deliver on his promises?

Polls got it wrong. Very few predicted the victory of Donald Trump in 2016 US Presidential Elections. His controversial inaugural speech on 20 January 2017 has confirmed that the priorities of his administration remain the same which he anounced during his campaign. Basically he will prioritze American interests over any other consideration ("America First") even if that means introduce protectionist measures and reduce the economic and military cooperation with the US traditional allies. Throughout his campaign he had already pledged to “Make America Great Again.” On this online debate you can find out more and discuss the main policies heralded by Trump concerning people's empowerment, immigration, corruption, foreign policy, security free trade and NAFTA. Would you like Trump to fulfill his pledges? Join this poll and debate by clicking here.

Animal protection II: Ban foie gras? Gorillas in zoos? Dolphins in captivity?

We continue our selection of interesting debates based on animal rights and animal protection. If you love animals and are interested in why we humans often abuse them you should probably join these public debates and polls. It is an excellent way to learn more about this very relevant issues and at the same time you will have the chance to help raise awareness and defend certain ideas.

• Should foie gras be banned?

Foie gras is a delicacy with a long history and very typical in Christmas in some countries. Although the product has been associated historically with France, its origins can be traced back to Ancieht Egypt. However, the the cruelty in the force-feeding process used in its production makes foie gras an extremely controversial food.  Foie gras is a delicatessen made of the liver of a duck or a goose which has been fattened following an extremely painful process. Usually by regularly force-feeding corn with a long tube (20–30 cm) (gavage in French). As a result of this fattening process the liver of the goose or duck swells to about 500g, 10 times its normal weight. But is it necessary a to prohibit foie gras consumption?

In some countries such as Spain, foie gras is now being produced following more ethical natural feeding techniques. Should countries follow the example of California and prohibit its commecialization? If you want to join the poll and debate follow this link.

Animal protection I: should we ban zoos, circuses, animal testing and exotic pets?

To what extent we need to care about animals? Shouldn't we prioritize human welfare?

There are many interesting online debates tackling the very important issue of animal protection. People are increasingly concerned about animal rights and we are aware that animals suffer because of human intervention.

This is a list of some of interesting online debates involving animal protection you can find currently on the Internet. I hope you join some or all of them:

• Should animals be kept in zoos? 

Animal cruelty or protection? This debate deals with the pros and cons of zoos and ask people to vote on wether zoos should be banned or not.
Zoos are extremely popular, over 180 million people visit zoos and aquariums in the US every year. However, an increasing number of animal rights advocates and animal protection organizations are criticizing the role of zoos in modern societies. There are many pros and cons that you may want to consider when joining this debate. For instance, zoos allow finding out cure for animals' diseases and prevent extinction of some species. They are also great to get children understand and love animals. On the other hand animals suffer captivity and develop psychological and physical traumas. Diseases are also spread in zoos. Would you support a ban on zoos? Join the debate here

First post - Our Mission

Dialogue is crucial in our society. Only through constructive debate we will manage to align our ideas and coordinate the social, political, economical and cultural changes our world needs.

The goal of this blog is to share with you a selection of the best debates and public discussions currently available on the Internet. We will create regular posts summarizing the most interesting debates we find about a specific subject. Best Debates - Critical Thinking will link to the top websites that are putting more effort into promoting public debates, such as Netivist.org, Debating Europe, idebate.org, and Quora

Best Debates - Critical Thinking will become a nexus where you will find relevant public discussions in which you can have a say. These public debates will allow you to inform your views and to shape the views of other people. We will only share high quality debates and discussions to avoid wasting your time. Sometimes we will share similar takes on one issue so you have the chance to look at it from slightly different angles and engage with different audiences.

So please join us in this journey! Follow us in Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus