Another way to put this is to say that greatness of spirit involves protection and care for the vulnerable whether they be children, the aged, the homeless, the ill or those easily targeted as scapegoats by others who profit from such appeals to fear. Another quality of greatness is that it calls people to face their real problems rather than to deny or avoid them. The Star Wars missile defense program being pushed by the president is a kind of global version of the gated-community syndrome. Building larger fences and shields and pretending that we can isolate and insulate ourselves is a powerful temptation for Americans today. But this is a fool's greatness.
True greatness involves honestly facing hard and challenging realities without losing hope.
Finally, greatness does not come easily or without a price. Americans have historically shown themselves willing to rise to the occasion and to respond to challenge. As a symbol, the effort to place a man on the moon bespoke an attempt to elevate the aspirations and values of a people, which is surely a mark of greatness and of leadership. It is enough, or so it seems, that we expand our personal holdings and individual wealth. For much of the past 25 years this ideal has been turned on its head.