Stop ignoring the issues: why I’m still not satisfied with the debates

The vice presidential debate last Thursday was far more exciting and refreshing than I had anticipated.

Vice President Joe Biden came ready to brawl, and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., was typically well-spoken.

Several important issues ranging from abortion to Afghanistan were discussed and each man outlined his ticket’s policy ideas.

The main disappointment of the night was what was ignored during the debate.

Three issues that are extremely important, relevant and in desperate need of a national discussion went untouched on Thursday: global warming, immigration and gun laws.

Climate change is happening.

The science isn’t fuzzy about the issue, and there isn’t a “Great Debate” within the scientific community about whether global warming is being caused by human activity.

It’s a proven, studied fact, and yet one would not have given it a second thought as a political issue after the debate last week.

Neither candidate was pressed about how they would curb carbon dioxide emissions or how they would prepare our nation for a changing climate and the resulting change in our economy.

I felt the same way after the presidential debate two weeks ago.

People are simply ignoring this issue, pretending that it’s far less serious than it actually is.

The next topic that should have been discussed is immigration. After President Barack Obama’s executive order about deferred action during the summer, the failed passage of the DREAM act and the discussion of immigration during the Republican primaries, it seems as though no one wants to talk about it anymore.

The reality is there are millions of undocumented immigrants in this country, working and making lives for themselves, and our politicians are choosing to ignore them.

To top it all off, the bloc of voting-age Latino citizens is growing quickly, and their eyes are set on the immigration issue.

As long as our politicians keep beating around the bush, both citizens and non-citizens will be unhappy, and the number of undocumented immigrants in this country will grow.

Finally, gun laws.

The topic has been untouched for years, what with the lobbying authority of the National Rifle Association.

The refusal to discuss the issue has doubled down with the Tea Party movement that shamelessly supports the Second Amendment with zero historical context or concern for public safety.

In the aftermath of the Aurora, Colo., shooting during the summer, and with tens of thousands of people killed or injured as a result of gun violence this past year, we can’t keep ignoring the issue.

We deserve to know where the candidates stand on gun control because it impacts the lives of so many Americans every day.

Hopefully more will be revealed about the presidential candidates tonight and next week during the last two debates because there are important and controversial issues that have yet to be discussed.

As voters, we have every right to know where the candidates stand on every issue, and we have been denied that right as of yet.

­— sydhoffe@indiana.edu