gistfile1.txt

We will find neither national purpose nor personal satisfaction in a mere
continuation of economic progress, in an endless amassing of worldly
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 the people who break them. The Gross National Product includes the
destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows
with the production of napalm and missiles and nuclear warheads…. It
includes… the broadcasting of television programs which glorify violence
to sell goods to our children.

And if the Gross National Product includes all this, there is much
that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our
families, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It is
indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets
alike. 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… 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, and it can tell us
everything about America — except whether we are proud to be Americans.