What Makes Life Worthwhile?

Shortly before his untimely death in 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy discussed the way we measure quality of life in this Country:

“We seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross domestic product…if we should judge America by that—counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. 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 domestic 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 wit nor 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.”

While Kennedy’s perspective is more than 4 decades old, some would argue that as a Country we are still challenged by the issues for which he called attention.

What makes life worthwhile for you? If your answer includes things like family, friends, good health, connection to your community, values and education, consider your time at the Y of Central Maryland to be an investment in not only your quality of life—but the quality of life of your community as well!


Posted by Bob Brosmer, Chief Operating Officer, Y of Central Maryland.