Humanity is a marvelous thing. I believe in the slogan I saw at Epcot Center, "if we can dream it, we can do it", and folks, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got some dreams that'll knock your socks off. I believe that we have just barely gotten started on our journey of fantastic accomplishments as a race. But before we leap up and gallop off in all directions at once, we must establish some priorities as a race, and stick to them. If we don't, we may never get off the starting blocks. So here is the list as I see it.

Priority 1. As a race, we must preserve this planets' ecosystem period.

As a race, we can do whatever we please, but first we must preserve the planet Earth. There is no place anywhere near this place, anything like this place. In fact, the closest galaxy with even the remotest possibility of having any place even close to like this place is several light years away. Great leaders, societies and scientific endeavors will do us no good if we destroy the ecosystem upon which we all depend for survival. So every endeavor we undertake, or fail to undertake, must be subjected to the scrutiny of the big question: What will it do to the planet ? Now people, I'm not in favor of stampeding off in a bunch of fear-mongering witch hunts. But there are several practices in which we are now engaged for which there is ample evidence to support the fact that to persist in these endeavors is to lead to the destruction of our ecosystem with a greater probability by far than that of you being injured in an auto accident. We all wear seat belts to try to reduce that probability even further. In some states it is even the law. Yet many people in very high places as well as low places, feel that it is foolish to take steps of precaution to save the environment until we can be 100 percent sure that these steps are necessary. Well that is really stupid, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that evidence is pretty prevalent that if we wait till then, the damage may be irreversible.

Or, we could play this silly game. Suppose all you anti-environmentalists are right and we do end up doing a bunch of stuff that is unnecessary to preserve mankind. The worst that could happen is that the air and water might get a little cleaner. How many people do you know that died, or even suffered tremendous financial loss from steps taken to preserve the environment ? Now suppose we are right and you are wrong and we do wait until it's too late to do anything. Then what ? We are all dead, that's what. That's not a very pleasant option is it?

Folks, I'm as big a Star Wars, Star Trek, and Dr. Who fan as anybody, but it isn't true that we can build self contained space craft that will sustain human life indefinitely, nor is it true that the Universe is over run with planets on which we can emerge from our space craft to take a deep breath of nice clean air and find a flock of ignorant adoring natives offering us mountains of delicious food. The "Columbus" trick will never happen again. Some great leader several hundred years ago once said " Man, in spite of all his accomplishments, still owes his existence to six inches of top soil and the fact that it rains." As far any scientist I ever heard of knows, that's still true today, and a whole lot more to boot. Evidence seems to be piling up to indicate that practically no plant, animal, or ecosystem on this planet is expendable, a fact that many business types, big and small alike, would like for us all to forget occasionally.

Priority Two. As a civilization, we must rebuild the family structure in our society.

The family, its infrastructure, its loyalties, its cooperation, collective efforts, its love and security, is the foundation stone upon which human civilization rests. Any society that allows its families to disintegrate will ultimately crumble, and folks, the pursuit of the almighty dollar and the things it can buy is leading us to systematically dismantle our families. We gotta stop that. I have a couple of laws dealing specifically with this problem in the chapter on the family.

Priority Three. As a nation, we must get ourselves out of debt, now, and stay out of debt in the future.

For one thing, we are delivering a burden to our children they simply cannot bear. For another, we may be leading the entire world into a depression. (2011 update:  Humm, looks like that little prediction sorta came true?)  But the worst thing is the deficit mentality we are developing in our people. That is, that it is ok to use more than we produce, on a habitual basis. Using more money than one earns may be ok, after all, its only an idea anyway. But it is permeating our attitude toward nature as well, that it is ok to pump more water out of the ground than nature can put back in, and ok to take more fish from the ocean than it can grow naturally, and use more air than nature can produce, and on and on, and that, is dangerous.

Priority Four. As individuals, we must make a living for our families.

As an individual, you can do whatever you please, but first you must make a living for your family, subject to the restrictions of priority one. Furthermore, you must raise your children in such a manner that they will feel the responsibility and have the capability to provide for their families when the time comes as well. There are simply too many people on this earth that feel like someone else ought to take care of them.

Priority Zero. Through all of these changes, we must maintain stability, in our government, in our economy, and in our world.

That's all. I'm aware that lotsa folks in high places, as well as a bunch of business types and unionites paralyzed by the white-knuckled-gripped fear of change of any kind, are going to try to label me as a wild-eyed radical that is going to hurl the nation and the world into chaos. I just want you to know that I am fully aware that the success of my plans is totally dependent upon a strong national defense, a stable domestic economy, and world political order, and that in fact, most of my plans are intended to strengthen these situations.