It’s easy to despair in this era of partisan gridlock, the 1 -vs- 99%, rampant materialism, America’s declining standing globally in public education, and… well, I’ll stop there for the moment. I came across the following stunning quote at the beginning of an inspiring book “The Purpose Economy” by Aaron Hurst, founder of Taproot.

Robert F. Kennedy, in speech at the University of Kansas on March 18, 1968:

“Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product … if we should judge America by that – counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

“Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.”

So many of our “leaders” carelessly invoke in speeches the jingoistic rallying cry “America is the greatest country on Earth!” Not by every measure, certainly. Not by a long shot. – We’ve got a lot of work to do. And each of us needs to re-commit to being a tad less selfish doing our part to make our country, and the world, a better place for the many, and not just for the few.