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We need another TR

As we approach the end of this century and court the coming of a new millennium, we are facing a brave new world. The changes that are happening at the speed of light and reshaping lives are redefining the world in which we live.

The world of 1990 will only resemble the world of 2010. We are in the midst of dual revolutions: an information revolution and a genetic revolution.

Technology and medicine have always modified our existence by making certain tasks easier or allowing us to better treat one illness or another, but the technological and medicinal realities of the past will not compare to the realities of the new millennium.

We live in a time in which it is becoming a reality that anybody, anywhere can access almost any information. We live in a time in which genetic breakthroughs are becoming common and scientists are on the verge of breaking the genetic code.

Some embrace this coming restructuring of existence while others would like to see it halted or controlled. No matter where you stand on this philosophical continuum, there is one thing that cannot be denied.

The need for strong leaders who can navigate us through this brave new world will be an imperative if we are to successfully evolve with the impending changes of the world.

Immense changes can either trample upon an unprepared, weak society or they can elevate it. The fate of a nation lies in how its leaders deal with the revolutionary changes that it cannot escape.

At the beginning of this century, we too faced a reality that was completely changing the landscape of the world. An industrial revolution completely changed the way people worked, the way families were raised, and the way people lived.

As the inescapable revolution came, the world was fraught with an infinite amount of new problems and issues to deal with. Food could now be mass produced to feed the masses in the now overcrowded cities, but in unsanitary conditions.

Goods were being produced in mass quantities, but only by immensely polluting the air and water supplies.

These mass producing companies were supplying the goods but were concentrated in the hands of a small few, who abused their monopoly power. Economic power in the hands of a few allowed for economic powerlessness in the masses; every member of the family had to work and children were worked to their breaking point and stripped of their youth.

All of these dilemmas were brought upon by that immense revolution. These dilemmas could have been made worse, but a strong national leader rose to the occasion and fought them down with courage, principle and might.

In a time when our nation was being consumed by the ubiquitous revolution, Theodore Roosevelt stepped up and put the revolution and all its accompanying changes in check.

At the end of this century as we again ride the runaway train towards revolution, we again need a leader who can tame the beast and make us its master rather than its slave.

In the contemporary revolution, we will again be faced with a multitude of new problems and dilemmas that will quickly rear their ugly heads. I can only speculate that the unprecedented access to violent and harmful information by our impressionable children will soon test the limits of censorship.

The failures of public education will soon be addressed by greater choice and competition fueled by the information age. Higher education will be characterized by on-line courses and teachers who are broadcasted from remote locations via television screens.

Furthermore, people may well begin to have more interaction with their computer screens than with their fellow humans, leading to a new socialization.

Genetic engineering can easily be used to make "super humans." And life expectancy could be lengthened 20 or 30 years given gene therapy. These issues and the myriad others that will accompany the revolution will present to us dilemmas with crucial ramifications.

If we are to evolve successfully with the coming revolution then we must likewise produce a leader like Teddy Roosevelt who can tame the beast. We need a man who will seek out the dilemmas presented to our brave new world, who will relentlessly fight for responsibility and balance, and who will obtain it.

In the near future as we seek out new national leaders we must ask ourselves whether or not they can meet the challenges of the new millennium and tame the revolution.