I am exceptionally ambivalent concerning politics and politicians. This is not because I think that politics is unimportant and it is certainly not because I am ambivalent about the importance of the this November's election. I do not believe that the real answers for our country are coming from Washington (or LA or New York). I believe that government tends to harm things when it tries to do anything positive. I also believe that neither party nor the American people have the will to curb the size of government bending it back toward its Constitutional bounds. Therefore, my favorite biblical verse on politics is that one that reminds us to put no confidence in princes.

Still, I have been intrigued by Mitt Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate. I think that this might make the election worth paying attention to because it might be a signal that Romney is going to try to make this a debate on big issues--and that debate desperately needs to happen. Ryan, one might recall, put forward a budget plan that actually curbed the size of government, capped and cut spending in some critical areas, and was summarily pilloried for it. Ryan's assertion is not that he wants to cut these programs, but that logic of survival (by paying one's debts) requires it. Actually, no one really wants to see any legitimate need go unfulfilled, but, as a nation, we have to have a serious discussion about how long our arms can be. We need to include many of the New Deal and Great Society programs in the discussion. We also need to put defense spending on the table (and the nation building commitments that tend to attach to any use of arms these days). We need to talk about raising taxes not just on the wealthy, but on everyone....because we need to pay our debts. There is a verse on this too: The borrower is the slave of the lender.

Classical education teaches students logic. This helps them make decisions about what politicians are telling the truth. When one tells you bad but necessary truth, while the other tells you what you would really like to hear but it does not not work out on paper or a spreadsheet, then you need logic to come to your defense. We need a good dose of it desperately in this election. Unfortunately, most schools stopped teaching logic a few generations ago. This might mean trouble!!!!

But, the election just got more interested. Horah!