I've been lately thinking about the vast differences between the words idea and ideal.

According to several sources, an idea is a formed by through the of . In the popular sense, an idea arises in a reflexive, spontaneous manner, even without thinking or serious . One might here a friend or companions say, "Hey. I have an idea. Why don't we take a road trip to Denver this weekend?" or "Hey. I have an idea. Let's invite everyone over to watch the game."

An idea doesn't have to have an ethical basis or be rooted in a specific values system. It's just an idea. At its core, and idea is just a thought. Of course, when pursued and expanded, ideas give rise to actual , which are the foundation for any kind of .

On the other hand, an ideal is a or that one actively pursues as a .

When I was a young man, there appeared on both coasts of our great nation a group of young societal revolutionaries who soon garnered the moniker "Hippies." They were known, at first, for their ideals of love, peace, harmony, love for nature, and freedom from traditional norms and mores. Some of their ideals were founded on Christian principles, but these later evolved into behaviors that became abhorrent to mainstream culture and strayed far from the Christian ideal. Still, you have to give them credit for at least starting out as idealists.

When I first became a Christian, I too was an idealist. I thought the church was filled with people who loved the Lord and who loved others as well, just as Christ had commanded. I saw that as the main ideal of Christianity. That bubble burst soon after I became active in a local congregation in my home town of Kansas City. When I saw politics and nepotism and special treatment for those who were wealthy or seemed powerful in the church, it left a bitter taste in my mouth for quite some time.

I know problems still exist in many churches, and I am sure some young idealist preacher is finding out this very moment that things aren't as they should be in the church universal. But I am still an idealist. I still believe things can become what they ought to be and that Christians can love one another. We simply have not come to the unity of the Spirit that the Apostle Paul spoke of.

Come to think of it, there's another place where idealism seems to be in short supply these days: the presidential campaign trail. I am wondering, as we face what seems to be another "lesser of two evils" presidential election, just where all the idealism has gone.

The candidates seem to be trying to convince us that they have some great ideas: ideas for an economic turn-around, ideas for reducing our dependence on foreign oil, ideas for getting our soldiers home from Iraq and Afghanistan and ideas to help us recover from the mortgage crisis.

They have a lot of ideas, but do they have any ideals? Do either of them have s or s that they are actively pursuing as a for our nation? Are they willing to bring their ideals to the office of president and, if so, will their ideals prove to be good for our nation? Or are they both just in love with their own ideas -- or the ideas of those closest to them?

John Kennedy was an idealist. Lyndon Johnson was, for all his real or imagined faults, an idealist. Even Ronald Reagan, like it or not, was an idealist. And though we may have done without idealism in the White House for quite some time, I believe a precedent for presidential idealism has long been set.

As we face the last two months of campaigning, I pray we will get a glimpse of idealism from at least one of the candidates.

At this point in time, I really don't care who.