The Big Ethical Questions: WHAT DON'T YOU KNOW AND HOW WILL YOU LEARN IT?

BY SANDY BOTTOMS ON CULTURE

Tom Brokaw's final question in last night's debate was evaded and dodged around by our candidates, but perhaps we can all try and answer it ourselves. He warned that the question has a Zen-like feel to it.

The question came in over the internet from a woman in Amherst, New Hampshire. She asked "What don't you know and how will you learn it?"

Senators Barack Obama and John McCain both began saying that they don't have a crystal ball. They cannot see the future. Obama reflected that some big unknowns are still to come. McCain believes in staying the course no matter what. The rhetoric is building up on both sides, the sound bytes can be cut with a knife, but the question was legitimate, and it has that quality that many final questions in debates do. The effect is that we get to see into the crystal ball instead. We see each candidate acting as a president, imagining themselves in the role, and demonstrating their presidential qualities before our eyes.

The Vice Presidential debate had a similar moment, when Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin were asked what they would do if, God forbid, they had to assume the office of the president. These big questions are asked, and it is an opportunity to hear an honest, if grandiose and philosophical, answer.

What we don't know, and what we must trust our government to solve, is what will happen to our jobs. Small businesses are folding, big businesses are collapsing, and a global quake in the market continues.

What we don't know, and what we trust our government to solve, is if there is a true end to this war. The war in Iraq must come to an end before this economy will ever be fixed. We need our government to reconcile the $10 billion per month being spent on the war while Iraq has built up an $80 billion surplus.

I discussed the debates last night with a truly undecided voter. His religious convictions and moral opposition to abortion, plus his lifelong Republican leanings, make this a tough year for him. He likes Obama's ties to the Christian community, and he likes Obama's moderate policies. He dislikes McCain's demeanor and has a hard time visualizing him as a leader of a nation. Many people find themselves in a moral dilemma when it comes to how they will vote. They want to vote their conscience. Never before have so many people switched parties so they could vote their conscience.

But they must sacrifice some things when they cast their ballot. They must be prepared to give up some of their beliefs or convictions to switch their lifelong alliance. Many conservatives have become dislillusioned over the current leadership. They want a candidate who will at least uphold a moral code that lines up with theirs. But in times of economic crisis and disastrous global politics, the moral agendas sometimes get put aside. In another four years, perhaps we will once again decide to vote along moral grounds, or on social issues.

But social and moral issues will not fix markets. The disputes over abortion rights will not dig us out of an economic depression. Gay marriage will not save or hurt our economy. The economy and the war are the issues to solve right now. Neither candidate is helping solve the economic crisis. Proposing sweeping measures in government seem to do nothing to save the market. Quite the opposite, they seem to diminish public confidence to nothing. But in a season of debate, is it moral or correct to simply keep one's mouth shut?

The debates were very issue-driven last night. Good. It's high time. But the big run-around that the two candidates are giving each other has taken its toll on voters. Voter fatigue really sets in when we have to spend 90 minutes listening to the same rhetoric on a repeated loop. Did the debates last night change anything?

The final question of the night was the illuminating moment. What don't we know? We don't know the answers to the big questions. We only know that we don't like where we are.

How will we learn it? McCain keeps nailing Obama for his lack of experience. He says we don't have time for on-the-job training. But both candidates will be learning on the job. One will be coming to it at the time in his life when most people would be retiring. The other is coming in younger and fresher. Both are at risk. And we are at risk. And we are forced to do our own on-the-job training. Our job as citizens has been redefined. Our responsibility as citizens is growing. We are more responsible for our own destiny than we realized. When a hurricane hits, we are responsible for our own escape. And when we vote, we are responsible for our own future. This is a crucial decision we are faced with. The big ethical question here is what can we do about it?