"We need an educational dialogue before we have a political debate," he
says. Yes, we do, but who will give it to us if the presidential candidates
are about patching and mending the current system? How many people
understand basic economics and the principals behind capitalism? Who
understands the history of their own country and the ideas that founded and
have sustained it through domestic and foreign challenges? Are there
politicians who will lead us to what we need rather than indulge us in the
silliness of what we want, like our obsession with O.J. Simpson and other
members of the cult of the depraved?
Television increasingly serves up crime and slime. These are not the things
of the mind, but of the gut and the groin.
The public wants real change, says Gingrich, but the politicians - perhaps
fearful of organized groups that could turn the image of a saint into one of
a deviant - won't give it to them. The desire for change is not the
exclusive property of conservative, white Republicans. Gingrich cites polls
that show the yearning for change extends across all racial, ethnic and
political groups.
Gingrich is trying to raise $30 million in three weeks to see if he should
run for president. Whether he does, or not, his ideas are worth considering.
They are precisely what the country needs. Candidates should be willing to
talk about them and the rest of us ought to pay attention. We might if we
are presented with something that actually works instead of the same old
snake oil, which never does.
Citizenship is not about what government can do for us, but what we can do
for ourselves. That is an old model that increasingly looks like a classic
car. And it is far more attractive and road-tested than the current
government jalopy, which is ready for the junk heap.