From the asthmatic child gasping for breath in an urban ghetto to the senior citizen lying in his or her urine and feces in a nursing home ... we as a country have abandoned the principle that a society is judged not by how we treat the greatest, but how we treat the least among us.
Let us ask ourselves ...
If a nation as great and as strong—as wealthy and powerful—as ours ... with principles of freedom, justice, fairness, and compassion to guide us ... comes to where we are today ... how did we come to this?
And if we have descended into the abyss of greed and self-interest—with more than enough wealth to have a solid foundation for everyone and more than enough power to be safe from outside coercion—what hope is there for any society to become what we believe we ought to be?
Where are our prophets to call us to oughtness?
Note: Written after reading Bob Herbert's column, "When Dollars Trump Compassion", in today's—Tuesday, June 19, 2007—NY Times.
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