Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, in a speech tailored for the Ivy League Saturday, discussed zoos, books, change, the political system, visions for the future and independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr.
"When Starr reports ... we will do our job, and it will be based on the law," Gingrich said in response to a student's question about President Bill Clinton's alleged perjury. "If we drop off that standard, this country will cease to be America."
Flanked by his own security detail and a number of Safety and Security officers in Cook Auditorium, Gingrich addressed hundreds of students and Hanover residents live and through closed-circuit television in overflow rooms.
Gingrich criticized journalists -- specifically at The New York Times -- for emphasizing political scandals, and all their details.
"I am appalled that [descriptions of] the Lewinsky thing were so vivid," he said.
Gingrich's anecdote-filled speech produced laughter several times during the afternoon, reflecting what some have called his new soft-spoken image.
He recounted memories of entering his hometown's city hall when he was 10 years old and demanding that a zoo be built. He detailed his wishes as a child to become a zookeeper and mentioned visiting the local Montshire Museum before the speech. At Montshire, he said, he observed an ant colony -- which he used as a metaphor for human civilization.
During the zoo story, he stressed the influence of fate on a person's life. He described how after his discussion with a city representative about the zoo, the representative called Gingrich's grandmother, "who he had dated 35 years earlier."
He said that after he made a zoo proposal at a council meeting, a reporter bored of typical council meetings ran an article on the front page of the local newspaper about young Gingrich's proposal.
"I got an article, I was addicted [to politics], and the rest was history," Gingrich said. "Life occurs this minute. How you react to that has enormous long time impact."
Gingrich also related memories of roller skating parties, relatives and trips to foreign countries.
Throughout the speech, Gingrich emphasized the importance of reading and told students to purchase Peter Drucker's "The Effective Executive" and "re-read it once a year until [they] thoroughly understand it."
"You have to learn what you need to know," Gingrich said. He explained that reading is the most important thing people can do to increase the quality of their lives.
Gingrich discussed the speed of the world's change and diagrammed his explanation on a chalkboard. He said the "astonishing" speed of current technological change makes the world both exciting and dangerous. For societal stability, Gingrich enumerated four rules by which citizens and politicians should live.
His first rule called for people to have knowledge of philosophy.
"I start from 18th century Enlightenment models," he said.
Second, he emphasized the natural world and said it "has a lot to teach us." Third, he explained that citizens should read as much as possible about "modern productivity," including Drucker's book. Finally, he highlighted the importance of having power and said it is "better to be safe and strong."
Gingrich spent a large portion of his speech addressing concerns regarding America's political system. He described the U.S. government as "federal confusion" but said its chaotic nature was created intentionally by the country's founders.
"The founding fathers had one passion: to avoid dictatorship," he said. Their one mission, Gingrich explained, was to "design a machine so inefficient that no dictator can use it."
He said that "any entrepreneur has the power to influence America," because of the system.
In addressing a student's question about the lack of virtuous politicians, Gingrich asked students who knew someone who had cheated in high school to raise their hands. When almost all students in the audience raised their hands, he asked them how they expected more from politicians.
"I know some of you think you are smarter than me," he said. "Fine, prove it. If you think you're better than the politicians, run for office and beat them." Gingrich urged students to take action when there are political problems they care about.
"Politics is one generation deep and no more," he said. "If you really want to be a change agent, you have to have a cheerful persistence."
One student asked Gingrich to respond to the low voter turnout in the College's recent Student Assembly election, where approximately one-third of the student body voted.
"I think that's reality," Gingrich responded. "If you had forced everyone to vote ... do you think you would have improved the quality of your vote?"
Gingrich expressed his concern for the lack of public information about national election candidates. He said he envisions an Internet voting system where voters can read files on each candidate and make intelligent decisions. He described his system as a "much healthier and more stable system."
Gingrich discussed other ideas for the future. He explained his vision for Social Security in which individual taxpayers control their own investment funds. He also mentioned the new balanced budget and said that the government is facing its first surplus since 1969. Due to this, he predicted a decrease of Social Security taxes from 12 to four percent.
Another student asked about trying children as adults in murder cases -- such as the boys in Jonesboro, Ark., accused of murdering four girls and a teacher.
Gingrich responded, "We cannot tolerate innocent people being randomly killed," and he asserted that such shooters should indeed be tried under adult law.
In responding to other student questions, Gingrich said that the U.S. government must be protected from influence by foreign nations but also stressed an "open society with legal immigration."
In closing, Gingrich recommended that students read the last chapter of his new book, "Lessons Learned the Hard Way: A Personal Report," by getting it from Baker Library. He then said he would be more pleased if students had their parents buy a copy for them.
