Ramesh Ponnuru discusses America's future

Ramesh Ponnuru, Senior Editor of the National Review and columnist for TIME magazine, visited UCF Tuesday to present "An Agenda for the Next President in the United States and Abroad."

Ponnuru, through his experiences, has come up with his own ideas on how the current state of our country could be changed by the next president and spoke openly about them throughout his lecture.

"Trust in large institutions keeps hitting a new low. Our belief in progress is, if not dead, at least very weak" Ponnoru said.

The first challenge that should be on the president's agenda moving forward is the economy, according to Ponnoru. He described that the economic recession has reduced the United States' standing in the world and limits our resources dramatically.

"Persistently high unemployment is a social catastrophe…college students, especially, need to be aware of the scarcity of jobs and [during the next election] should focus on the intent to create awareness and to create job availability. Students graduating these days end up in jobs that don't even require a college degree so they have to deal with debt and little comparative payoff after their education," he said.

Ponnoru suggested that the causal factors of this recession are a weak regulation of mortgage origination, reckless lending, and the housing bust among other issues. He acknowledges that the nation faces serious issues but believes that the Constitution hints at global transition and along with the new president's agenda "a new generation will make old principles new."

David Mole, UCF junior studying history, recognized Mr. Ponnuru from the National Review and came to the lecture to become well-versed on the issues facing our nation and our dealings abroad.

"I enjoyed listening to him speak because he approached this topic from an intellectual and policy-oriented standpoint rather than a political one. Usually these topics are handled by politicians trying to get one point across. Ponnoru gave us different ideas to think about and consider during debates" Mole said.

In 2006, Ramesh Ponnoru published "The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the disregard for Human Life." He also published articles in many newspapers such as The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post.

This presentation was part of the UCF Global Perspectives Office's "India Speakers Series." Another upcoming speaker in this series is Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi on Nov. 10, 2011.