AMERICA NEEDS NATIONAL GOALS

In his final televised speech to the nation as President, Dwight Eisenhower first coined the term “military-industrial” complex and warned:

“As we peer into society’s future we must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. we cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow.”

It was just two years later that I first championed the idea of creating a DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL GOALS. As I wrote in 1962:

“Our country has made no pronouncement to fire the imagination of mankind with a vision of how great a place the world can become if all countries and all people will work together for the common good. Our intentions are good, our motives noble, our strength is great - but we lack the big idea. The torch has not been lighted. The people of the world are waiting for us to inspire them, but no inspiration has come.”

The questions I posed and ideas I presented in my 1962 paper, A GOAL FOR AMERICANS are still relevant today. Read the full text here and give us your thoughts on how a Department of National Goals would play into our long range focus and policies. We’d like to hear from you.