(U-WIRE) SALT LAKE CITY – The College Republicans debated with the College Democrats yesterday, and no one really cares. The debate focused on the role of religion in public education, with such questions as “Should intelligent design be taught in conjunction with evolution?” and “What role should religion play in creating public school curriculum?” being discussed. Despite the almost inflammatory subject matter, the debate was sedate and uninformative.

There are two main problems with putting on lackluster debates between political parties. The first problem is that they fail to properly examine the real issues facing and dividing Americans today. Why don’t we have debates between Republicans and Democrats about policy rather than ideology? It would have been more illuminative to have these two student groups discuss the handling of Hurricane Katrina relief or what should be done with debt forgiveness for Africa.

Rather, the debate focused on the separation of church and state, which basically amounts to waving a red flag in front of a raging bull. It doesn’t inspire discussion; it inspires broad statements and insults.

Republicans and Democrats need to spend less time energizing their bases and more time educating people on the differences between and within the two main political parties in our society. Debates about typical party issues only cause people to rally around their party’s platform, which does nothing to heal the rift within American politics today.

On a plus side, the student representatives of both groups occasionally crossed party lines and gave concessions to their opponents on several of the questions posed. However, while this moderation is appreciated, being nice and making friends doesn’t do much as far as keeping the debate lively and getting down to the issues at hand.

Which brings us to the second problem: The level of public discourse in this country is woefully low, a fact that was illustrated by the mediocre performance of the debaters Tuesday.

How can we expect college students to become excited by politics when the representatives from the College Republicans and College Democrats so poorly articulate their views in a public forum? When debates of this nature take place in the future, it would be preferable to discuss topics that could better inspire discussion and to have debaters who more fully prepare their arguments.

Staff Editorial

Daily Utah Chronicle (U. Utah)