I am concerned about the whole man. I am concerned about what the

Hear the words of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the president who rose from the rugged soil of Texas to guide a nation through storm and change: “I am concerned about the whole man. I am concerned about what the people, using their government as an instrument and a tool, can do toward building the whole man, which will mean a better society and a better world.” These words shine with vision, for they speak not only of policy, but of the very soul of humanity. Johnson looked beyond mere survival, beyond wealth and power, to the deeper question: how may a nation help its people grow in body, mind, and spirit, that all together may build a nobler world?

The ancients, too, spoke of the whole man. For Plato declared that education must shape not only the intellect but the virtues, balancing wisdom, courage, and justice. Aristotle taught that a polis exists not merely to keep order, but to cultivate the good life for all citizens. Johnson stood in this ancient tradition when he dreamed of a government that does not serve the few, but elevates the many, enabling each man and woman to live with dignity and fullness.

Consider Johnson’s Great Society, born in the 1960s. In a time of turbulence, he sought to wage war not only against enemies abroad, but against poverty and ignorance at home. Through civil rights legislation, education programs, and health care for the elderly and poor, he endeavored to build the whole man, freeing citizens from the chains of hunger, prejudice, and despair. His words reveal his belief that government, when guided by the will of the people, is not a tyrant, but a tool—an instrument by which society may shape justice and opportunity.

History bears witness to the truth of his vision. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt launched the New Deal in the Great Depression, it was not merely to rescue banks or factories, but to restore human dignity. Work programs, social security, and protections for labor gave strength to millions. In those years, America began to learn that government could be more than a watchman—it could be a builder, a helper, a healer. Johnson’s words reflect this same spirit: that through collective effort, the whole man may be nourished, and thus the world renewed.

O child of tomorrow, take this lesson to heart: a society that tends only to wealth and weapons but neglects the human soul will decay from within. A society that nurtures the whole man—his mind through education, his body through health, his heart through justice—shall endure, for its foundation is not stone, but the dignity of its people. The greatness of a nation is measured not in the strength of the few, but in the wholeness of the many.

Let your spirit, then, be ever mindful of this calling. Do not despise government as a burden, nor worship it as a god. See it as an instrument, to be wielded by the people for the good of all. Demand that it lift the weak, protect the vulnerable, and open the path for each to grow into their full measure. For in raising one another, we raise ourselves, and in building the whole man, we build a greater society.

In practice, live this lesson not only in politics but in daily life. Work for justice in your community, support education, extend compassion to those in need. Encourage leaders who seek the wholeness of people, not merely their labor or their taxes. And within yourself, strive to be whole—balanced in mind, body, and spirit—so that your life may reflect the very world you hope to create.

So I say unto you: heed Johnson’s vision. Be concerned for the whole man, and use the instruments of community, of government, of shared effort, to build him. For only in wholeness shall we find true freedom, and only in freedom shall we find a better society and a better world.