[Ben Lahnger]

The most reliable sailor is one who never learned to swim.

I just picked up A. Whitney Brown's collection of essays "The Big Picture: An American Commentary" (copyright 1991) used from Amazon for less than $3. I was tickled to get it at that price (while getting free shipping due to my total qualifying purchase being over $25.)

The Bible says, "The truth shall make you free." But let's not forget it was Spiro Agnew who said that a good lie will keep you out of jail in the first place.

Now there are some challenges with reading a book of political commentary from two decades ago, but it's still an entertaining read and the humor survives pretty well in tact. And there's a bit of wisdom here and there that stands tall and proud.

One of the greatest of American dreamers was Martin Luther King. His dream was that "my four little children will one day live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

It was an American Dream and it inspired the world. Even I have a dream. In my dream, I go to a job interview, but I'm not wearing any pants. Obviously, you can't base a national policy on it.

But it does go to show that not all men are created equal. Some men have greater dreams than others. Americans have always had big dreams. What makes us Americans is that the few among us with great dreams have the freedom to make them come true. It's something worth believing in.

So starting this book is what has made my day. I love the fact that his solution to the world's economic problems involves ten pesos and a chain letter.