By Blaney Pridgen

All writers in Op Ed are here to inform and acknowledge issues of importance to our communities, however these writings represent the views and opinions of the authors and not necessarily of The Advertiser. 

Wouldn’t it be very helpful if the presidential candidates stayed on task in personal honesty about what they truly believe and how that will affect what they would pursue in a clear platform, commonly called an action plan with minimal descriptions?  In the nature of a debate that won’t happen.  They will do a lot of carrying on about each other.  They will waste time trying to paint their opponent as a very bad man in collusion with the forces of darkness among their base of supporters, unfortunately in congress.  

If each stayed on task, then they might address these six issues in terms of what they actually believe and what they will actually pursue:

1. THE ECONOMY, especially in what is going on among the middle-class and the poor. 

2. ABORTION. Especially in what might happen with reasonable compromises.

3. THE UKRAINE, especially in response to our relationships with our allies and with Russia.

4. ISREAL AND THE PALESTINIANS, especially in how we can and cannot support the current policies of their respective current political regimes.

5. IMMIGRATION, especially genuine and relatively humane border control plus new clear and reasonable pathways to citizenship.

6. UNTENABLE DIVISIONS, especially dysfunctions in both parties and cultural matters which fuel division.

We might add racism, individual rights, education, voting issues, infrastructure, global warming, etc., etc.  but perhaps these six might give us a bit of a vision of statesmanship possible in either candidate or probably not as the case may be.  Let’s be fair and let us not fuss and act ugly.  And let us hope for creativity and dignity.  Yet, here come the debates between the candidates who apparently are the best fellows our political parties could muster.  Really?  And should we want to put those elders through such a harrowing to no effect?