Ben Stein breaks character, shares lively message

Made famous for his monotone repetition in the 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Ben Stein offered a much different message to a packed lower level at the IU Auditorium Tuesday night.\n“In college, I was high all the time – making mistake after mistake after mistake,” he said. “I slowly learned from my failures and realized what was working for me.”\nAfter completing what he said was a dramatically life-changing, 12-step program to become sober, Stein said he realized his time at Columbia and Yale Universities was not as valuable as the lessons he learned in Alcoholics Anonymous. His underlying message to the audience was to appreciate life and not worry about trivial matters.\n“The problem is, I’m so damn old now, it doesn’t do me any good,” he said. “I’m here now trying to pass it on to you.”\nAfter working as an actor, a speechwriter for President Nixon, a professor and a Wall Street analyst, Stein said it surprises him how efficient people are at ruining their lives on such an enormous scale. Contrasting humor with personal experience, he summarized many of the talking points of his book, “How to Ruin Your Life.”\n“Note that you are the source of all wisdom,” Stein said sarcastically. “If President Bush came to you and asked for help on how to get the ‘f’ out of Iraq, realize that you were born for this and know everything.”\nHe followed up with straight-forward counterpoints for each piece of advice, detailing the values of hard work and kindness, and his deep respect for Martin Luther King Jr.\n“The greatest obsession of mine has been following Dr. King and the message that ‘America can never be a first-class nation if we have second-class citizens,’” he said. “To have that kind of respect for each other ... is a giant step in the world.”\nAudience members laughed and clapped throughout most of the program. They were especially enthusiastic after Stein said the IU Auditorium was the most beautiful room in which he ever spoke.\n“Even as a flaming lefty liberal, I wanted to hear his ideas,” said second-year law student Michael Ullom. “I’m curious to know the amount of people who expected the kind of energy he gave tonight.”\nTouching on the value of service to the less fortunate, Stein said the real heroes are those wearing the body armor in 130-degree heat fighting in Iraq, not the movie stars who live near him in Malibu, Calif.\n“Why do these guys go out and lose limbs for someone they haven’t even met?” Stein said. “I want to see a presidential candidate who realizes that the primary problem in America … is sending people to fight a war in a country where billionaires don’t have to pay income taxes.”\nDuring a question and answer session that followed the presentation, audience members discussed the upcoming presidential election, his television show and, of course, his famous one-liner.\n“Would you ... would you do it for me, Ben?” one audience member asked as the rest laughed.\n“Of course I will,” Stein said to great applause. “Adams, Adamson, Adamowski, Bueller … Bueller … Bueller.”