Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, often receives more than a little criticism for having big ideas. I don't know if he will be able to secure the Republican nomination for president or not but, I like a man who is not afraid to dream and have big ideas. I do not know if we will ever colonize the moon or not, but I have learned not to say, that it will never happen. Men and women who dare to dream and have big ideas, are very necessary, if man kind is going to continue to grow and prosper on the road of progress. I think before we as a society, pass judgement on so called dreamers, let's see what some of these dreamers of big ideas, have done for mankind.
There was a time when, the idea of a horseless or motorized carriage was considered nothing more than a crazy man;s dream in fact. people often said,"They'll never replace the horse." I am happy to say, Henry Ford did not believe that, and in 1908, he produced his first car called, the Model A Ford. I guess you could say, Ford had a better idea. I must say, I enjoy the ability to get in a car and go where ever I want, as long as I can pay for the gas! As I have studied various aspects of history, I am reminded, that there were those, in this country who said," If God had wanted us to fly, we would have been born with wings after all, fight is for the birds." I sure am glad the Wright brothers, didn't listen to that advice. On December 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk North Carolina, the first airplane flew. Wow! human aviation, now that was an idea a lot of folks thought, was really up in the air, and would never get off the ground! The year was 1876, the man, was Alexander Graham Bell. He was convinced, that there should be a device that would allow direct communication from one person in one city, to another person in another city. He first called his device the electrical speech machine, we now call it, the telephone, Today, we have phones small enough to fit in your pocket, and you can speak to people on the other side of the world if you want to.The telephone, now that was an idea, that really let you reach out and touch some one. Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity, changed physics forever, and his equation E = Mc2 eventually led to the atomic bomb that President Truman used against Japan to end the fighting in World War II Now that was an idea, that really ended with a big bang!
The truth is, I could go on and on talking about people in American history, that really had big ideas that literally, changed the world. Do I even need to mention television, or computers and the inner net? There is one big idea, I'm particularly thankful for, it seems in 1775 there was a small group of thirteen British colonies, started listening to men like Thomas Paine and reading his pamphlet called Common Sense and other inspirational writings like John Locke's (1632, 1704) Two Treatises of Civil Government, first published in 1690. John Locke believed, if a government became to oppressive, the citizens had a right, and a duty to revolt against government tyranny. This idea that men could live free apart from a monarchy almost split thirteen colonies apart. One idea was, that the colonies should stay loyal to the English monarchy. Those who felt this way were Tories, and those who wanted to revolt against King George III of England were called, Revolutionary Patriots. On July 4, 1776 56 men, signed a document we now, know as the Declaration of Independence. Though this declaration, caused the Revolutionary War, that lasted from 1776 to 1781 the end result was a new idea in government where the people could decide how the wanted to be represented. Thus A government based on the idea of democracy and representative government was established, and a new nation called, America, was born. Now, that's what I call, a really great idea!
What advancements society will make tomorrow, I do not know. What I do know is when any society makes a new discovery on the road of progress, it usually starts with a dreamer, who has a really big idea. As always, my friends, these thoughts remain, just, some words, to think on.
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