English Debate Club : Whose time counts? Clock time vs. event time

Debate topic for August 19
Whose Time Counts? Clock Time vs. Event Time
When someone says, “You’re late,” and another replies, “It’s not time yet,” they may be showing two very different ways of thinking about time.

In today’s industrialized world, time is generally ruled by the clock.
Work starts at 9:00, lunch is at 12:30, and tasks have deadlines. In this “clock time” mindset, being on time shows respect, responsibility, and efficiency. Time is something to measure, manage, and use well.

But in other places, other traditions, time follows the flow of events, not the ticking of a watch. In this “event time” way of thinking, things happen when the right conditions are met. A conversation begins when everyone is ready, planting starts when the rains arrive, healing finishes when it is truly complete.

The moment decides the timing, not the clock.

Neither approach is wrong, but our global systems: schools, workplaces, aid programs, healthcare, are built mostly on clock time. This is difficult for people who live by event time. They may be seen as slow, unreliable, unproductive, when in fact they are responding to natural rhythms or social readiness.

This can cause misunderstandings. A student from an event-time culture might have trouble with strict schedules. A community may not be ready to start a project just because an outside donor’s deadline says so.
A person might be pressured into a major decision before it feels right.

In this debate season premiere, we discuss: In a world organized by clocks, how can we - and should we - make space for event time? Whose sense of time should set the rules?

at 6pm, log onto https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83063138691
Meeting ID: 830 6313 8691
Passcode: EngDebate

The debate will begin about 18:05 or when most have gathered. The moderator, Tobias, reads the topic for the group, combined with related questions that might get us thinking. Then we put our names in the chat if we want to speak, and he calls on us (either in turn or else if someone has not spoken, he gives them priority).