The English civil servant and philosopher, John Stuart Mill, when writing on the nature of liberty said that “the worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.”
For all of the natural resources and beauty to be found in California, the true wealth of our State can be best found by looking at the special gifts and talents, the unique insights and understanding, the wonderful diversity and contributions, brought to the larger community by those of us who live here.
Good governance requires that we live in the paradox of two truths, one is that the whole is greater than its parts, and the other truth is that each individual matters, each life deserving to be valued and celebrated in its own right.
May the Holy One enable us to always balance the needs and rights of the individual with the values and concerns of the community, and may we be ever mindful that our ultimate value as a society rests on the singular contributions of each and every one of us. May this be God’s will. Amen.