Swirly chocolate & vanilla, rocky road, bourbon crunch homemade at the Hub, even weird flavors like licorice conjured up at the aggie school when I was in college. An ice cream cone can change the world.

How many families got off their tushes this morning, hopped on their bikes for Tucson’s Ride to the Zoo day? Not only do you get free admission to the zoo; you get a free ice cream cone! Smooth, creamy, swirly chocolate and vanilla on a 95-degree day, watching little kids holding their precious cones in one hand and mom or dad’s hand, strolling by the lion family on their way to the silly screeching monkeys. What could be better than sparking memories of a happy childhood 30 years from now?

(Ok, my friend Penny points out that she’s one of the few “Adult Children of  Normal Parents” at parties.)

Adults who’ve stored reasonably happy childhoods in their psyches generally don’t beat up people, experience road rage or are mean to their own kids, which I’ll bet studies would prove. I wonder how many content adults belong to the NRA or feel an intense need to protect themselves?

Then there’s Ben Cohen, now in his 60s, one of the founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. He’s riding around the country in a van called “The Illuminator,” having left his home in Burlington, Vermont, on Oct. 12. His destination — with a freezer full of ice cream — was New York’s Zuccotti Park, home of the Occupy Wall St. movement.

Now that Ben & Jerry’s is owned by a corporation, some protesters boycotted the van. “I understand [their] point of view,” said Cohen. “All I can say is: the line for ice cream did not get any shorter.”

Ben & Jerry’s released a new flavor called “Yes Pecan!” to celebrate President Obama’s inauguration. Cohen has had an idea for another new flavor, “Choccupy, and it would be all vanilla with one big chunk of chocolate on top. You could just eat the chocolate and pretend you’re part of the one percent,” he said, “or you could break it up and mix it with the rest of the 99 percent, and make chocolate chip.”

My advice to politicians: forget making meaningless speeches, the ludicrous notions of privatizing Social Security or rolling back women’s rights. Bring ice cream to the people! Not only will you get their vote; you’ll make them happy.