city

wisdom

is a place whose greatness is measured by its collective compassion toward its poor, its aged, its sick.

A city's greatness cannot be measured by the he ight or its tallest buildings; the le ngth and breadth ol its public transportation system; the number or nightclubs, sports stadiums or convent ion centers; or the presence ol great museums ol art and archeology beckoning us to peer into the past. All ol these things are wonderful and their ex istence is a s ign ol a city's vital ity and vibrancy. But they don't add up to greatness. A ci ty's greatness is measured by its collective compassion toward its poor, its aged, its s ick - the very peop le who are so olten consigned to the junk heap ol history by cynics and purveyors of benign neglect - those who inform us that the urban cris is is no more; that the problems ol our major urban areas would disappear ii we would on ly stop talking about them. (Speech at Hunter College, May 20, 1975).

is such that the name that men of weak nerves give to it is pessimism.

Pessimism is only the name that men of weak nerves give to wisdom.

Bernard Gifford

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Bernard GiffordThinkers

Bernard Gifford