Like most people last Monday, I found myself tuning in to the debate, and later found myself regretting it. While I could talk for days about the flaws in both candidates and add my voice to the “how did we let this happen” question, one thing kept coming to mind after the debate was long gone: my brother.

Anyone who knows me or my family knows that my brothers and I are incredibly close. They also know that I’m extremely proud of Peter for his decision to serve in the Marine Corps. But no matter how proud I am of him, it doesn’t change one thing that I kept hearing towards the end of the debate Monday night. Both Clinton and Trump talked about how much money and resources we were losing overseas. Not one of them mentioned the lives we lose overseas.

Yes, I know that sounds extremely picky and catty, but if they really want to appeal to service members and their relatives, they need to talk about the actual people fighting to keep us safe. My senior year political science teacher said it best when he said, “we need to stop being the world police and start taking care of our people at home.” We put too much effort into making sure that everyone else is safe when we don’t even take care of the men and women who we send out all over the world.

I’m sure you’ve seen the push-up challenge that is bringing awareness to the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide every day. I’m sure you’re aware that there are countless homeless veterans who cannot get the benefits they were promised. I’m also sure that you know what these men and women sacrifice everyday so that you can spend your money how you want, go wherever you want, and say whatever you want. Call me wrong, disagree with me, but I won’t decide who to cast my vote for until someone stands up and addresses these issues.

I love my family. I love Peter. I don’t want to have to worry about whether the country that he is risking his life for is willing to do the same for him. To take care of him. To take care of every single person like him. So, as you’re making your decisions this November, I ask you to honestly look at both candidates and their history with the military. I ask you to please not just consider who would be best for you, but who would be best for the people protecting you.