The Arkansas River project is navigable all the way right here to Tulsa. Your Democratic delegation has fought successfully to bring Oklahoma its share of Federal projects to help Oklahoma gain equal advantage with her sister states. Although this is not Thanksgiving, I suppose you can always count your blessings, numbering among them the payrolls and facilities of -- Altus, Vance and Tinker Air Force Bases; Ft.
But we can see that the people of this State and folks like Speaker Albert and Ed Edmondson and Jed Johnson have built the platform for a tremendous economic boom in Oklahoma. These magnificent federal projects have enriched your state, your community, and your lives and are a tribute to the people of your state and our Nation who recognized a problem and an opportunity - and who acted collectively through out federal government in a spirit of community - a spirit of cooperation.
Because in truth these [? They were built by Americans for other Americans - Oklahomans. And these projects have served their purpose - they have made life better for the people who live here. But it is not only dams and airports or bases and highways or post offices and payrolls which enrich our lives. You, as Oklahomans and all of us as Americans, know that what really counts in our lives is something you cannot count.
It is a feeling, a spirit, a meaning. It is not something which can be described or detailed in any annual report or defined by the Gross National Product. The Gross National Product swells with the destruction of the Redwoods and includes security locks for our homes and jails for the people who break them.
It includes napalm and nuclear warheads and cigarette advertising. It cannot measure the wisdom of our public debate nor the integrity of our public officials. It does not measure our concern for each other nor our commitment to justice. In short, the Gross National Product tells us everything about ourselves - except who we really are and everything about America except why we are proud to be Americans.
