Whether or not an individual would vote for former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich as a GOP candidate for the U.S. presidency, like and admire him or not, it is important for all Americans to hear his message.

The former lawmaker, now chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future, was in Lawrence this week and made three presentations: one primarily for KU students, one for a group called Friends of the Dole Institute and one for the general public at the Dole Institute of Politics.

There is no question that Gingrich is a strong, extremely smart, effective and articulate spokesman for the Republican Party. However, he is an even stronger, more passionate and outspoken advocate for a morally, economically and militarily strong United States.

He is crisscrossing the country delivering his message on the importance of the American public being far more aware and concerned about America’s fragile position in the world, whether in moral leadership, education, national security, or economic and business leadership.

He doesn’t hide his concern and distrust of President Obama and the eventual goals of the Obama administration. He doesn’t pull any punches in his criticism of many U.S. actions or policies during the Bush 43 administration.

In his hour-long, note-free address at the Dole Institute and a long question-and-answer period, the former GOP congressman stressed three major concerns: “Who are we,” “how do we compete with China and India to create jobs and maintain our economic position as a world leader” and our “national security.”

Granted, there are political implications on how best to address these issues, but these questions or concerns should be of great importance to all Americans whether they are Democrats, Republicans or somewhere in between.

On the question of where are we, he pointed out that those who worked so hard in drafting the Declaration of Independence actually believed in what they wrote. They believed it when they wrote, “We hold these Truths to be self evident that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain, unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

He said those writing the declaration didn’t say the government “owed” anyone but did say they had the right to “pursue.” They also acknowledged there was a God and a creator, which, in American classrooms today, might be challenged by the ACLU.

He said it is important for Americans to believe in the truth, not what someone in government might want you to believe. He said the most important political slogan in the coming years may be “two plus two equals four,” meaning don’t accept and don’t believe two plus two equals five or that one plus two equals four rather than three. Believe in the truth, not what someone is trying to sell you.

He urged those in his audience to compare what American school children learn in their high school years with what students of comparable age learn in their classrooms in China or India. He said, “If you don’t learn, you shouldn’t get a diploma.”

In regard to competing with China and India, he said what is happening in those two countries is “a fact. … The problem is how do we deal with it?”

He pointed out the growth of the economies in both China and India and how they are structuring their business and industrial development.

Gingrich said there is no question that America is and can continue to be a world leader, but due to various developments and government polices, we have lost our ability, commitment or zeal to achieve success. He pointed out that in a period of 44 months, from the time the U.S. entered World War II until the end of the war, America had defeated two war machines on two sides of the globe, Germany and Japan, built a two-ocean Navy, built the Pentagon, developed the atom bomb, built thousands of ships, tanks and planes, mobilized millions of men and women and, after the war, helped rebuild Europe and Japan.

And yet, he said, the U.S. has been fighting a war in Afghanistan for eight years — and there’s not much to show for the effort — and there isn’t a building to replace the World Trade Center destroyed in 2001. He said we should have had a massive building up within 18 months to show this country can bounce back and is not going to be knocked down by terrorists.

He stressed the point that this country and its people can accomplish so many great things, but for some reason, we have lost the drive, commitment and desire to excel.

On the national security matter, he said far too many Americans do not realize we are in a war, that the enemy wants to kill us and that it is as simple as the late President Reagan said when asked about the Soviet Union, “We win, they lose.”

Gingrich said the last 30 years have been difficult for the United States, and the public needs to realize just how serious the current situation is. “When we have arrests of suspected terrorists only a few days ago in Denver, Detroit and New York, and we know they want to kill us, this should make it very clear just how serious the situation is.”

Undoubtedly, there are those who would argue and disagree with many of the things Gingrich said, but such thinking probably is colored by political leanings, not the true “two plus two equals four” facts presented by Gingrich. Granted, he did not have many good things to say about Obama and former President Carter, but putting this aside, there is no question that far too many people in this country are complacent about our educational system, our economic situation, the almost unbelievable and mounting debt, and our national security.

There doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency or a feeling that this country and its people are in a giant competition with those who hate us, as well as those in China and India, who are determined to match us, or beat us, in the world of business, manufacturing, industrial development and finance.

Why isn’t there more concern? The same could be said about the city of Lawrence, Kansas University and the state of Kansas. Why aren’t more people actively engaged in trying to get better, beat the competition and be a leader? In the case of KU, why settle for just being the best in Kansas? Why not aim for being one of the best in the country and do what it takes to try to reach this goal? Sad to say, but KU has dropped in its national ranking in recent years.

There is no room for complacency or accepting what is as what should be the case, whether in education, moral leadership, the role of government, keeping America strong economically and militarily, or for those in Lawrence to accept and be satisfied with average, mediocre performance in the city, at the university or at the state level.

As noted above, the Gingrich message should be heard by as many Americans as possible, whether or not they would vote for the man. At a time when this country faces so many challenges and when we have a president who is determined to change this country in such a radical way, the public needs to get far more excited and concerned and demand better and more courageous leadership.