Dinner Guests

During this past week I attended the annual dinner of the Center of the American Experiment (CAE) in St. Paul, Minnesota (www.amexp.org). CAE is a free market/conservative think tank so clearly I was at home at this event but what I should have done was invite a few friends and family members who need some exposure to free market thinking to encourage them to think in terms of how and why government should be reduced.

How might this have been accomplished?

Simply by having my guests attend with an open mind willing to hear what the speaker had to say about the state of the USA today. This speaker was the very accomplished -- George Will -- known for his love of baseball and very articulate columns. Yes Mr. Will is a conservative who stated during his dinner speech -- "the last president I agreed with was Calvin Coolidge.................." (1923-1929) -- but he is no partisan or mouthpiece for any political party or special interest group. Mr. Will is a well educated, deep thinker who has a sound understanding of the value of personal freedom, historical progress, and the need for reforming our government.

As I listened to Mr. Will's speech I had a flashback to my 4th grade teacher who hosted a debate club for my class. Her advice to me at the time as she assessed my debate technique was -- "emotions don't win debates, facts do............." -- how true those words sounded over 30 years later as I heard Mr. Will's emotion-free speech which combined wit, humor, historical perspective, and personal examples to articulate the need for reducing the role of government in our lives.

Since I did not have the foresight to invite a few dinner guests I will no focus on securing a videotape of Mr. Will's speech so I can spread the gospel of freedom.

Silent Cal would have been proud of Mr. Will's speech.

Todd