The most recent Democratic debates brought up the central issue with American politics: Ambiguity.

Ambiguity is nothing new to political candidates and was the main form of answering questions last week.

As many of you may have noticed, or for those of you wondering what this ambiguity is, there is a system of question-and-answer that is ingrained in political debates.

Interviewer: “Candidate so-and-so, how would you combat climate change?”

Candidate: “Well, firstly I would like to thank you for asking me that question, and I think that America is a great country that I want to help get better. Climate change is an issue in America and all around the world, and I think it would be a top priority during my presidency.”

See, no real answer was given to the question, but it still draws applause when the candidate finishes.

I usually blamed the American populous for not being educated in politics and not paying attention, and while I think there are some who do not care about politics or actively participate, I think this ambiguity has caused voters to become deaf to real answers.

At this point, how are we to make educated guesses and judgments about candidates if they do not actually give real, meaty answers about serious issues.

A candidate can just say they agree with or disagree with a topic and that is enough for the voter; any further explanation or analysis about the real issue just goes in one ear and out the other because the one word is all the voters need to hear.

But who can blame us, at this point?

We know to expect non-answer answers from the candidates, so we typically lose interest when the candidates go on and on about something.

Candidates know most voters (or so it seems) do not pay close attention, so they just say what the people want to hear. Voters feed back in to the candidates by not challenging them, and that creates the cycle that leaves both parties happy: Candidates get votes, and voters do not have to strain over politics.

That is why educating ourselves is so important in today’s political climate because we may be electing a person to be the head of our country who promised one thing on the campaign trail but did another.

That happens now, with Trump voters saying they did not expect him to do some things and even apologizing for helping put him in office.

Especially with a predicted recession in a couple years, and the fact that the country is so divided that it seems to be Trump vs. the entire Democratic party, this upcoming election has a lot riding on the future of our economy, culture and political climate.

Do not fall for ambiguous non-answer answers, educate yourselves about who these candidates really are before we regret another election.

Dillan Schorfheide is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at dtschorfheide@eiu.edu.