BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Author, retired neurosurgeon and rumored 2016 presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson spoke to a crowd of more than 1,400 community leaders and concerned citizens at the Alabama Policy Institute (API) Annual Dinner about the need to move forward from the current win or lose mentality in politics and to begin working for reasonable, conservative solutions to the nation’s problems.

“We have to embrace a dialogue where we can disagree with one another and not consider one another an enemy,” Carson said. “In our efforts to address the issues that face the United States, we cannot be offended, and we cannot be uninformed.”

As failures related to the rollout of ObamaCare continue to mount, Dr. Carson has been at the forefront of the national debate about the future of healthcare in America.

He challenged attendees at the dinner to speak their minds and to weigh in on debates about education, health care and equitable taxation in America.

“In order to put our nation back on track, we have to be willing to talk about the problems that plague our nation,” Carson remarked. “All of you have to lead that very necessary dialogue and propel us toward policies that provide real solutions to the issues our communities face.”

Carson put his advice into practice earlier this year at the National Prayer Breakfast where calmly but directly challenged President Obama’s healthcare and economic policies with the president sitting just a few feet away.

His speech at the prayer breakfast propelled him to national prominence and stoked rumors of a potential presidential run in 2016.

Dr. Carson is currently an emeritus professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and has directed pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for more than a quarter of a century. He is also the best-selling author of America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great.

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamYHN