Education, LGBT rights, marijuana more relevant issues to American masses
Monday night marked the end of the 2012 presidential debates. By now, Americans have heard about the nation’s unemployment, the troubling deficit and everything to do with Libya. A good number of subjects were covered in the four debates between the incumbents and hopefuls, but a few issues that would have really hit home to a lot of Americans were almost completely dismissed.
Among the dismissed issues, three stand out most. The affordability of higher education, legalization of marijuana and rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community were barely mentioned, if spoken about at all.
The candidates boasted a lot about the “prosperity” of America, but this nation can only prosper if America’s youth is educated. If the cost of education in America is beyond reach of the majority of the youthful generations, how can we expect to prosper? The candidates spoke freely of foreign policy, but failed to talk at all about how they’re going to make education more accessible here at home. As worried as we all are about getting hired after graduation, a lot of us are worried about not being able to pay off our student loans until we have our own children. The failure to talk about education as an affordable institution may have caused the candidates to lose the interest of many young voters.
Another subject avoided in the debates was marijuana and its fate as an illicit drug in America, as well as the War on Drugs in general. Granted, this issue isn’t as pressing as some of the others, but it tends to invoke strong opinions in people. With all of the talk about the economy and taxes, it seems sort of foolish to rule out the impact that legalization or the removal of incarceration policies could have on America. Many Americans would have liked to hear about the candidates’ views on the War on Drugs, because again, it’s a topic that has everything to do with America.
Last, the “closeting” of LGBT rights during the presidential debates will definitely rub some Americans the wrong way. No questions were aimed at why President Barack Obama favored gay marriage just a few months before the election, and no questions were aimed at Mitt Romney’s mixed views on the issue. The gay rights movement is a revolution happening right now in America that will become ingrained in our nation’s textbooks. To dismiss the subject entirely is totally absurd.
Overall, the debates covered a lot of issues that needed to be spoken of at this time in our nation’s troubles, but the dismissal of a few of the most relevant issues to American citizens (the only people voting in the election), will prove to influence the booths and the public opinion.