"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. ... The gross national product does not [measure] 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."
Spoken by Robert Kennedy in the US in 1968. True in SA in 2009.
Stolen from Roger's blog.
What an incredibly insightful quote! We measure RDP houses built, but not families in homes. We measure unemployment statistics, but not the ability of young people to enter the job market. Or the excitement of your first pay check. We measure pass rates, not the pride of parents watching their children excel. We measure crime stats, but not the feeling of safety in your home. Or relationships with our next door neighbours. We measure death rates, but not grandparents loving their grandchildren.
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3 comments:
it's sad but true hey, we live in a country that celebrates mediocrity and crucifies excellence. look at what the natives are doing ganging up against poor Judge Johan Kriegler? the only thing the dude did was to activate one of the constitution's functions, to serve the country and not some dodgy judge in Cape Town. but the so-called progressive natives choose to resign to make his a racist issue and where is the noise we heard during the Caster Semenya issue? Nowhere - dictatorship does not beat war-drums, it starts with you and me choosing silence because it's golden.
Laura you`ve, like always, hit the nail on the head. You have said a mouthful in a few words.
I didn't say it, Robert Kennedy said it!
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