Too much and for too long, we seem to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now is over $800 billion dollars a year... if we judge the United States of America by that... Gross National Product 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 the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. 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 can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans. --Senator Robert F. Kennedy
What
do we stand for as a nation and who do we wish to be? In a 1968 speech
at the University of Kansas, Senator Robert Kennedy correctly worried
too many used our nation’s wealth as the standard of greatness rather
than the human values that should matter most. Our Gross Domestic
Product — now $17.7 trillion — includes many things for us not to
be proud of. So we should ask ourselves how well America is doing on
the things that should matter most—the well-being of our children and
families and the quality of justice and life in our communities and
nation?
Among high-income countries the
United States ranks first in Gross Domestic Product and first in the
number of billionaires, and second worst in child poverty rates – ahead
only of Romania whose economy is 99 percent smaller than ours. It is a
national disgrace that children are the poorest group of Americans with
14.7 million living in poverty.
We are first in military spending — $11.1 billion a week — and first in military weapons exports.
We
are first in the number of people incarcerated and worst in protecting
our children against gun violence. A Black boy born in 2001 has a one in
three chance of going to prison in his lifetime and a Latino boy a one
in six chance of the same fate. Children and teens in America were 17
times more likely to be killed by gun violence than those in 25 other
high-income countries combined.
We are 30th in preschool enrollment rates and 17th in reading, 23rd in science, and 31st
in math scores for our 15-year-olds. Nearly 60 percent of all fourth
and eighth grade public school students in the U.S. and more than 80
percent of Black and almost 75 percent of Latino children in those same
grades could not read or compute at grade level in 2013.
We rank first in health expenditures but 25th in low birth weight rates, 26th in child immunization rates, 31st in infant mortality rates, and second worst in teenage births – just ahead of Bulgaria.
If
we compare Black child well-being in America to child well-being in
other nations, the U.S. Black infant mortality rate exceeds that in 65
nations including Cuba, Malaysia, and Ukraine. Our incidence of
low-birth weight Black infants is higher than in 127 other nations
including Cambodia, the Congo, and Guatemala.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
spells out the basic rights children should have everywhere and is the
most widely and rapidly ratified international human rights treaty in
history. For years the United States and Somalia, which had no
recognized government, were the only United Nations members that had
failed to ratify the convention. In January 2015 Somalia became the 195th
nation to do so. The United States now stands only with new U.N. member
state South Sudan as the two countries that have not ratified it — and
South Sudan has started working towards ratification.
The
United States stands alone, despite recent progress, in still
permitting life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders who were
under 18 at the time of the offense. The U.S. Supreme Court has banned
capital punishment for crimes committed by juveniles but America remains
one of 58 nations that continues to use capital punishment for adults.
In 2013 the U.S. had the sixth highest number of executions — after
China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and North Korea.
If
America wants to be a truly great nation on the world stage, it’s time
to redefine the measures of our success. The litmus test I propose is
that of the great German Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
executed for opposing Hitler’s holocaust, who said “the test of the
morality of a society is what it does for its children.” The great South
African president Nelson Mandela
agreed with him and believed “there can be no keener revelation of a
society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” On the
Bonhoeffer-Mandela measure of success, we must do much, much better.
In my opinion, there is irony in the fact that our nation claims not to associate with communist institutions while instilling many communist values (the prioritization of guns vs. butter, the increasing unchallenged rates of homelessness, the ability to deem human life unworthy of living, and the list carries on). Though I am aware that "the grass is not always greener on the other side", it would be foolish of me not to question many of the policies that shape my daily life as an American citizen. As I sit comfortably in my furnished apartment, smelling the aroma of a freshly prepared meal undulating from my kitchen, I am humbled by the fact that so many of our youth, my people, are not able to experience the same. It’s so easy to complain of exhaustion or less than favorable conditions when we’re not constantly faced with the daily adversities of those around us. To know what “full” feels like is unjustly a privilege. Mainstream media glorifies boasting as though having more makes one better, and often we are most reluctant to give to those seemingly in need (the homeless, the blue collar, etc..). On the other hand, we eagerly share our funds with major companies who utilize human capital and overcharge consumers for cheaply made products. The very drum major instinct that causes us to seek validation gives us the power to validate others. There’s a thin line between love and hate.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite a shame the ways I witness adults take advantage of the resources afforded to adults. The money, influence, and intelligence goes toward things that have no sustainable value and the more I compare this time in history to generations before, the problems are maybe more complex or multi-layered but the root cause is the indifference of adults. Indifference toward the future, justice, and life. However, I remain encourage because I know a lot of young people who are committed to love, justice, and radical change. The wisdom of MWE and our elders serve as a guide but it will these same young people that will spur on the current movement. I am grateful to live in a time and place where young people, Black, White, Latino, and all folks are turning out for issues that aren't just about race but about economic and environmental justice and so on. We will be the change, the stakes are much too high to be indifferent and I feel that we are beginning to understand that.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly surprised by how things spoken nearly fifty years ago are still relevant to modern day issues. As I was reading the beginning quote by Robert F. Kennedy I assumed it was a response to the current American status until I got to the very end and saw the name and date. It is sad that we are still facing the same problems, like poor education, violence in the lives of children, and poverty that we were facing nearly fifty years ago.
ReplyDeleteThis statistic packed column both surprised and confused me because the numbers did not match up. I do not understand how the US can have the biggest budgets (in several areas) yet some of the worst results. It does not make sense to me. Are we just horribly inefficient at using money to create results? Or are the problems reflected in our national statistics so deep rooted that they cannot be easily fixed with money?
In accordance with the last paragraph I would like to offer another quote about the nature of people. “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”—Malcolm S. Forbes.” At their current state children can do little for America, however, as they grow they can do a lot. As with the other quotes, this one spells bad news for the US because based on the way we are treating our children we have a long way to go before we achieve a respectable character. I hope we begin to utilize our resources more efficiently and place a higher value on legislation that helps children.
We are a material driven nation and it is quite unfortunate to think about the values that others do not perceive that we have. Is it accurate that we do not value education and the wholesomeness of life as much as we value materialism? I think it is true. I see it all of the time people that are completely in denial of the misfortunes around them.
ReplyDeleteHow can we overturn this culture in our country? How can we urge our people to see the importance of protecting our children and ensuring every child has a FAIR start. That is all it is about a fair start. How can we expect a child to thrive when they are not able to eat, live and function normally? Disadvantage children cannot protect themselves, are we that cruel of a nation to continue to turn away from this outrageous devastation?
What I do at the high school that I work at is seek out resources for our students, so that they can become better equipped and prepared for adulthood and life. It breaks me down to realize how many of them are not knowledgable about common things as simple as the importance of education and working. So I overextend my offerings because I will fail in life if I know I have something that someone needs and I just walk away. America is failing as a nation because we continue to walk away.
True activists understand that we cannot simply work within the system - we must change the very system itself. As most educators know, the starting point of any lesson or activity is establishing an objective and identifying indicators of success. If the indicator of success if flawed, then any lesson striving to reach that success will also be flawed. The same is true for laws and policies. If the United States continue to measure its success by our GDP, then we cannot be surprised when our policies and laws aim to maximize that figure at the expense of children and families.
ReplyDeleteThe country of Bhutan uses an indicator of success unlike any other country in the world: Gross Domestic Happiness. http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/
They obtain this measurement by surveying their citizens and maximize GDH by creating policies and programs that will improve the standard of living for all. As Mrs. Edelman writes, If we want to see change in the United States, we must start with a fundamental shift in what we view as a "prosperous" country. We cannot ignore those statistics that show our shortcomings - the success of our children is an indicator of our future success as a nation, so why not develop a new measure of prosperity like Bhutan has done?
"Among high-income countries the United States ranks first in Gross Domestic Product and first in the number of billionaires, and second worst in child poverty rates – ahead only of Romania whose economy is 99 percent smaller than ours."
ReplyDeleteReading this statement truly made me reflect and think about my day to day interactions and occurrences. I think about the number of millionaires that come across my television screen each day, the amount of new electric devices that are produced monthly, and then I think about the number of children I work with everyday who live in poverty...
This is very humiliating and truly shines the light on what we value most.
The work that we do within the Children's Defense Fund Program certainly promotes the target of what we should be focused on - our children. Nelson Mandela said it best: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Children are definitely our future and if we are not treating them right we are failing.
“The first step towards change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”- Nathaniel Branden
ReplyDeleteAs Arsenio stated, we are a “material driven nation”, whom values are not exactly what they seem. There is a need for an immediate “shift in the atmosphere” within our country. Individuals are more worried about holding power than pushing towards progress, which is OUR main issue. There is still the question of how can we change that principle to one that directs attention to the importance of adequate funding for public schools and adequate housing for the families in need?? It saddens me to know that our worries today in 2015 are the same worries of Robert Kennedy in 1968. As a catalyst for change, it should be our commitment to help break barriers and improve the quality of life for all people in this country but doing so humbly and with a sound mind.
"So we should ask ourselves how well America is doing on the things that should matter most-the well being of our children and families and the quality of justice and life in our communities and nation."
ReplyDeleteIt's time for Americans to reevaluate the what we value. We keep doing the same thing, but expecting different results. We treat our youth like the enemy, when they're the ones who are truly innocent. Americans are quick to give spend money on things they don't need, but slow to spend money on investments like our children. The government is trying to cut off our children the most, by taking away different programs and cutting the funding of programs that promotes their well-being. We have lost value on the matters that really matter most.
Society has become our biggest prison guard, it's time for us as Americans to break free and remember why we are here, why we are Americans and why/who we are here to serve.
As many of you have stated, we live a very materialistically driven society. I do not feel as though American places value on the things that they should. I talked about in my other post, how the United States has such an abundance of money, yet spends it in all the wrong places. If being the richest country was what was truly important, we would not have all of the issues that are currently going on. I knew that the United States infant mortality rates were high compared to other countries from classes that I have taken in my current program. However, I was completely unaware, although not really surprised, that we were the worst at protecting children from gun violence.
ReplyDeleteFor Robert F. Kennedy to have made that statement in the 60s, I think it is quite ridiculous that the same problems still occur nearly 50 years later. We are not progressing as we should. It's no wonder that so many other countries dislike the United States because we don't even look out for our own people!
This article got me thinking about not just how we spend money as a country, organizations and programs but how I spend my money individually. This is no mystery that our country values injustices. This is explain by numerous studies. This reminds me of the previous article that talks about how title 1 funding was and is still be misused by organizations.
ReplyDeleteI started to really ask myself questions about what do I value as an individual? What do I value as an individual in Minneapolis Public Schools? What do my programs value? In my programs I am setting to change the narrative around black males and the negative stats, images and perceptions. That's anything from showing positive stats instead of negative stats, showing positive images and not negative images of black men and creating positive perceptions and not focusing too much on the negative ones. I value success for black males, so show success, do successful program and be a model of success.
We say we value something and then show the negative stats, images and perceptions of why we value that certain thing, but we don't show the very thing we value in a better light. This article did not just make me look at my country's value system, but it made me look at what I value and how I can make an intentional change to show my values in a more positive light.
I can say that this article truly does not surprise me. It is evident through so many statistics that we see with the status of America's children, that priority is not placed in the appropriate areas. I learned this after graduating from school and becoming an educator. So many things are about politics, who you know, and top heavy systems and policies, especially when concerning education. However, as I read it, I started to reflect on my own values. As I continue to grow and take on leadership, I must always remember what is important, especially when it concerns our children.
ReplyDeleteWhat a interesting, amazing, and ultimately very sad article. I love how Mrs. Edelman began it with a quote from Robert Kennedy, but am saddened by the fact that after 47 years, America still is in the wrong with how we prioritize what makes a nation great. Sure, we have one of the largest economies in the world, have profitable business, and have more freedoms than some other countries, but our children are significantly behind where they should be. Although some would like to point the finger at the children and their environments, you cannot judge a carpenter on what he has or hasn't built if he hasn't been given tools or wood. Those that say our education system is one of the best in the world are either shockingly ignorant or have turned a blind eye to problems that have persisted for decades, but have been accelerated in the past 15 years. How this is not at the forefront of every political campaign is beyond me. I find it sickening that whether or not Common visits the White House is a hot button issue for weeks on cable "news," yet our education ranks well below nations that we hold ourselves in similar esteem to.
ReplyDeleteWOW! This article is sad but true. The article states that "Children and teens in America were 17 times more likely to be killed by gun violence than those in 25 other high-income countries combined." Why are we still dealing with things of this nature. I feel as though the U.S has come a long way and were once at it's peak of turning things around and turning over a new leaf. However, watching the stories on the news, it appears that we are regressing as a nation. To have one of the largest economies in the world, yet still have individuals hungry, homeless, and uneducated is ridiculous. It's an embarrassment! As a social worker, we thrive on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. A person's basic needs must be met in order to function in the American society and unfortunately, we fail to meet the basic needs of countless children. Until the nation can focus on the importance of our children, we will continue to fail.
ReplyDeleteI recognize that this article provides readers with many shocking, yet true statistics about America's children. Although all of the statistics are horrible, in this moment the one that stuck out to me is our 2nd place ranking in terms of teenage births. Right now my 8th grade students are preparing to take comprehensive health with their science teacher. After speaking with the science teacher, I'm ashamed of how South Carolina is preparing our children in terms of sexual health. Teen pregnancy and parenthood leads to many of the concerns and struggles that face our nation, all of which can be avoided. Besides my student's academic success, I also worry about their relationship and sexual health in the big world of high school. I want them to make informed decisions, not blind decisions because their education system has not prepared them. Some may say it isn't the job of the school, but if it isn't happening at home, it has to happen somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI think what bothers me the most is that this is what America cares about. Not the citizens so much as the leaders. Why are spending so much money on the military? Why are we at war, like the "real" reason? According to this we are a greedy Nation who loves to control and use the military at the drop of a hat. And we wonder why poverty is increasing and incarceration/violence is at an all time high. We have our priorities mixed up. It saddens me to see even after all these years it seems as if we still do not care about the state of our country. Like Devon stated, I too thought this was a recent quote! Completely unacceptable, I should not be proud not embarrassed to be an American.
ReplyDelete"If America wants to be a truly great nation on the world stage, it’s time to redefine the measures of our success." The statistics about our over-consumption of material items and our focus on financial accumulation over spiritual wealth needed to be read. But we should also be reading about Americans who choose to leave behind capitalist ideals and instead become wealthy through gratitude and love. I have been making a conscious effort to avoid reality TV such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and to follow more spiritually enhancing bloggers on social media. Astrologically, we have entered the Age of Aquarius, and this is what you may have heard referred to as the "New Age". We started this New Age in 2012 and each age lasts about 2,000 years, so we are clearly at the very beginning of this process of evolution. What spiritual gurus say is that in the next 2,000 years, human beings will want less stuff and want more freedom and inner peace. The more we are hoarders, the more unhappy and prone to depression we become. The more we compare ourselves with others, the less we love ourselves. Wanting or needing more is directly correlated with feeling more empty. We should choose to fill our minds with gratitude. The more you give, the more you receive. We must also check ourselves and see when we are being hypocritical. I for example, own an iPhone and an Apple computer, even though I am aware that Apple uses sweatshop labor to create these products. It's because it is convenient for me to use it, but that isn't an excuse for partaking in oppressive capitalist tendencies. I'm not saying we have to be perfect or Mother Teresa, but we should take steps towards being honest with ourselves in terms of how we are active participants in the process we are critiquing. We should realize that wealth starts within, and change starts within. If we all take a step in the right direction, we will notice that the footprints extends throughout all of society as well.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this column, I became so disgusted at how bad our priorities are in America. We have things so mess up. We have to much opinion and weight on the material things until it blinds us of the things that really are important in this world. And we have ourselves to blame. All we want to wear and have are the finer things in life but yet don't understand where it fits in our priorities. And nothing is wrong with that, because I love wearing the finer things in life but its not my main issue. We walking around wearing thousands of dollars on our body but don't have 500 in the bank. That makes no sense to me. We have to do better. And we have to teach and instill better in our children so they wont make the same mistakes that we made and still might be making when it comes to priorities.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Arsenio Ward when he said that we are a materialistic nation. That's something in no way, shape, and form that we can deny. I can say that we are in the best position to make the biggest change. If we get back to valuing the culture, strength in education, personal beliefs, and cut back on material things so much, we will make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s accurate to say that we don’t value children as a nation. At this point I’m not surprised by anything that negatively impacts minorities, children, or poor people. I think it is more advantageous of to discuss concrete ways to decrease the disparities facing these special groups in America and develop pockets of private funds to support these groups even if the government doesn’t see fit to do so in a timely manner. We must not wait solely on the government to move; historically we see how that tends to play out. Even when legislation is made there are loopholes that tend to have long lasting negative effects on those it is supposed to help.
ReplyDelete