What makes an issue?
Two things make up an issue. One, the point of contention; it must first be agreed upon what matter is in dispute before there can be an issue. For instance, to argue for “Gun Rights” is too vague to be properlycalled contentious. Instead to argue whether private citizens should be allowed to carry guns into city buildings or not more properly fits the criteria for a debatable point of political discourse. To argue to no end, with no purpose or point identified, is not political discourse.
The second component of an issue is whether or not there is a conclusion. Conclusion should not be understood to mean that all must conclude identically, but rather just the opposite. Issues need multiple conclusions to validate the point of contention. For instance, with our contention whether private citizens should carry guns into city buildings, there can still be no issue if there is no disagreement about its conclusion. If all agree on a point, there is no issue. Thus, an issue exists when both a point of contention and a disagreement about its conclusion are present. To this end, the goal of political discourse becomes resolving difference of conclusion so as to resolve issues and find fact.
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