Robert Kennedy once said,

"We will find neither national purpose nor
personal satisfaction in a mere continuation of...
an endless amassing of wordly goods.

We cannot measure national spirit by the
Dow Jones Average, nor national achievement
by the Gross National Product.

For the Gross National Product includes
air pollution, and ambulances to clear
our highways from carnage. It counts special
locks for our doors and jails for people who
break them. The Gross National Product
includes the destruction of redwoods and the
death of Lake Superior. It grows with the
production of napalm and mines and nuclear
warheads...It includes programs which glorify
violence to sell goods to our children.

And if the Gross National Product includes all this,
there is much it does not comprehend...
the health of our families, the quality of their
education, or the joy of their play. It is
indifferent to the decay of our factories and the
safety of our streets. It does not include the
beauty of our poetry, or the strength of our
marriages, the intelligence of our public debate ...

...The Gross National Product 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."

Those words were spoken a long time ago.

Do they have any meaning to us today?

THE FOUNDER

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Mat 6:19

THE FOLLOWER

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Phil 4:12)

Dear Polycarp,

Thank you for your input.

As Tor Hundloe points out in his book,
"From Buddha to Bono: seeking sustainability."

"What Robert Kennedy said in the
speech was what mainstream economists would come
to say in the future.
It has taken 50 years for the fatal fault of
traditional national accounts to sink in.
...We will never know if Robert Kennedy could
carry the day. A bullet ended his campaign
and his short life and the possibility of an
environmental revolution 50 years before it
finally came."

Tor Hundloe reminds us of the late 1960s song
about the destruction of countryside for
super highways and urban sprawl that became
a hit called, "Tar and Cement."

The song suggests that we should be careful
of leaving anything worthwhile, until it is
too late.

"The town I came from was quiet and small
We played in the meadows where the grass grew so tall
In summer the lilacs would grow everywhere
The laughter of children would float in the air

As I grew older I had to roam
Far from my family, far from my home
Into the city, where lives can be spent
Lost in the shadows of tar and cement

And every night I'd sit alone and learn
What loneliness meant
Up in my rented room above the world
of tar and cement

Each day I'd wake up and look at the sky
Think of the meadows where I used to lie
Then I'd remember all of that's gone
You're in the city, you'd better push on
Get what you came for, before it's too late
Get what you came for, the meadows can wait

Many years later, tired at last
I headed for home to look for my past
I looked for the meadows, there wasn't a trace
Six lanes of highway had taken their place
Where were the lilacs and all that they meant
Nothing but acres of tar and cement..."

I recently came back from visiting my home
town, a Sydney suburb, and it had changed
drastically, not for the better...

Thanks Foxy for reminding me of that song.

Even today it haunts the corridors of time with its warnings.
I'll see if I can listen to it again on the net.

I located the old Telstar instumental piece the other day... maybe Tar and Cement is there too somewhere.

This is a turning point in our history.We lack both good leaders and a clear vision.Most of us will probably be a lot poorer,but perhaps the pain will make us less hedonistic.

Beware the Bush Administration,even under McCain they will seek war as a distraction from home woes.The US dollar is underpinned by oil since this agreement was signed by the Saudis in the 70'S.All countries must hold $ US to buy oil.This is what props up their country.Iran wants to flood the market with oil and sell in Euros.This will destroy the value of the $ US.This is why Bush wants to invade Iran.The most dangerous country in the planet is Pakistan.Why do they not invade it?

Dear Gibo,

I'm glad the song pulled at your
heartstrings as well.

It really got to me and made me
think about so many things,
especially about where my priorities
should lie.

Take care.