Richard Dreyfuss has his heart in the right place but his mind remains mostly stuck in the left one. 
The man who won the 1978 Best Actor Oscar for The Goodbye Girl and might be best known for his role as Matt Hooper in Jaws described to a crowd of about 700 at The National Constitution Center, June 8, his plan to return the teaching of civics to its proper place in the nation’s schools.
The event was hosted by WPHT 1210, now calling itself “Talk Radio WPHT” instead of “The Big Talker”.
It was moderated by WPHT’s Dom Giordano.
Dreyfuss said the germ for the idea for what became The Dreyfuss Initiative occurred during the 2000 election when “the court stopped the election process”.
This brought one loud, derisive snort of laughter from a member of the audience.
Dreyfuss continued saying “All my friends targeted Bush as the enemy.” He became convinced, however, that it was the ignorance of his friends and of the American public that was what allowed such a thing to happen.
Anyway, Dreyfuss was eventually hired for a stage show in England from which he was quickly fired after it was discovered that he wasn’t being falsely humble when he said he couldn’t sing or dance. While between jobs he “trolled for work” and found it lecturing on history and current events.
At this point he became aware of a dearth of understanding by citizens as to how their governments work. This was even more true of Europeans than Americans, he said.
So began the Initiative which has pointedly politically diverse board of governance — noted pollster Frank Luntz is a director and Scott Faulkner, who was the Reagan-Bush campaign’s national director of personnel in 1980 and was elected by the Gingrich Congress to be the first Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1995 is executive director.
Faulkner, in fact, shared the stage with Dreyfuss in Philly.
Dreyfuss lecture rambled with occasional shots at George W. Bush, Fox News and Rupert Murdoch. After stridently blaming Fox for harming the political discourse, Giordano suggested he add MSNBC to list. Dreyfuss considered for a moment then agreed.
And Dreyfuss did not, this evening, do the civic-minded thing and consider the claims he was spouting as facts. In describing one of the sins of America he said that 90 blacks a month were lynched for 100 years which would mean that there were a 108,000 blacks lynched during the Jim Crow era.
According to the Tuskegee Institute, there were 3,446 blacks and 1,297 whites lynched in this country between 1882 and 1968.
Still, Dreyfuss truly expressed love for this country. He said it was the best in history and warned that if we did not start taking the teaching of this seriously it would not last the 21st century.
Dreyfuss showed respect for the Tea Party giving one questioner who identified himself as a member of a New Jersey group much praise and encouragement. He also singled out Republican congressmen Darrell Issa and Speaker John Boehner as being the only political figures who have given him support.
Of the 20 or so persons who lined up to ask Dreyfuss questions only five got to ask them due to the length of Dreyfuss’s answers.
Also, Giordano said that the meeting was being streamed live although it was not broadcasts over the air on WPHT due to the Phillies-Dodgers game. The Phils won 2-0, by the way, behind Cole Hamels’ pitching, a Ryan Howard home run and a Shane Victorino triple.
Dreyfuss expressed criticism about the entertainment now being provided by Hollywood. He said the only movies being made involved “teenaged angst about vampires” or “self-congratulatory” exercises in technology like Avatar.
The Independence Hall Tea Party Association passed out flyers after the event advertising “The Energy Independence Day Tea Party” which will be held on Independence Mall, 1-3 p.m., July 4. It will feature Giordano, Ambassador John Bolton, The Honorable Anna Little, businessman Joey Vento, the 286 Band and include a debate about energy.
The event is free.
There will be an after-party featuring soft drinks and hor dourves. Cost is $20 and reservations are required. Call 215-690-4043.
Also there will be a pre-event lunch. Stay tuned for details.
Co-sponsors are the Cherry Hill Tea Party and the Diamond State Tea Party.