"What in the world is a nuclear tsunami judge? I don't know, you don't know, but the nation of Islam could unleash this upon us at any time. A NUCLEAR TSUNAMI!" yelled the high school debater, while I sat back, unimpressed with this "scare card" of evidence he had just pulled.
Scare cards are something debaters use to scare judges away from their opponents side of the argument. Nuclear destruction, war, global warming, and other oftentimes less likely threats are thrown at the judge to scare them away from the opponent and win the debate. A conscious judge can recognize a scare card from a more realistic piece of evidence, but if they are just casually listening, the weak connections between the case and the threat can seem realistic and terrifying. But if the judge is alert, focused on the debate, and prepared to strip away the nonsense, they can see past it.
Life is full of scare cards. We worry about the near-future, and if our plans will work out correctly. We worry about the far-off future, about retirement, mortgages, loans, and other long-term commitments we took to live the way we want to live. Don't let them distract you from the real issues. Don't fall for the scare cards.
Stay focused on the things that matter. God doesn't want us to worry, God's got this. We are told time and time again that worrying only distracts us from God and the bigger goals we have. Don't fall for the nuclear tsunami ploy, it's not really a threat, it's just something to worry about.
Tota tua,
LeAnn
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