The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. -Franklin D. Roosevelt
What an instructive phrase, to dedicate our collective selves to the upliftment of all.
A friend of mine posted this tonight and the instant power of the statement commanded my attention and redirected my thoughts. What a concept. Deconstructing to process, I get this:
The test
The final tally of effort.
...of our progress
The collective effort, we the people, united as one organism working at a common endeavor.
...is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much
The word 'not' here is the instructive word, because it makes the truth of effort a lie if the effort is misspent. Said another way, we labor in vain if we pursue this course, no discussion required to understand.
...it is whether we provide enough
'We' again as the collective, shared responsibility. 'Enough' strains to be all encompassing and is aimed at the enlightened.
If 'more than enough' is the pursuit of greed and the celebration of ego, then 'enough' is the perfect score, the archer's mark, the summit scaled.
...for those who have too little.
Our saviors are those who have too little, and the writer knows full well that the greatest debt in Heaven and on earth is reserved for those who toil to fill a need. The greatest of men have known this and lived a life of self sacrifice trying to cancel need where they find it.
They who have too little are our Masters and our Teachers.
The writer wove simple words into complex thought that laid waste to ignorance, and I bow before his grasp of language and his ability to spin idea out of emotion.
Bravo!
Well said Phillip
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