HILLSBORO — A beautiful sunset is one of the most inspiring promises in the unwritten word of God (nature). Viewing such a sunset, the late singer-songwriter Roger Miller reportedly said, “There is no telling what God would have done if he had money.”

In our worldly definition of success, it takes money to do just about everything, big and small. The more money, the more successful one is considered.

How people attain riches seems not to be that important. Nor does the way the wealth is used — or hoarded.

With deregulation the rule and fad, our government, including our courts, has provided many opportunities for the “haves and have mores” (to quote George W. Bush) to flagrantly violate long-held American values and ethics at the expense of the have nots and the “had some at one time.”

Some called it our second “Gilded Age.” Now it’s followed by our second “Great Depression.”

Whether the economy can be fixed anytime soon is a question both serious and scary.

The perpetrators of the current collapse are fiercely fighting reform. Those doing quite well, indeed whistling right past the graveyard, include insurance and pharmaceutical interests and the medical industry.

Giant, palatial hospitals are springing up like ragweed during allergy season.

The next “too-big-to-fail” failures will be those putting pedal to the metal of bigness in the health industry.

And should the goverment get involved as it should to help the uninsured, we shall hear from those in the medical industry who say they cannot maintain their “expected standard of living” so encumbered.

The actual problem: Their profits are too great. They need to improve and expand care before worrying about greater profits.

Some of the greatest people who ever lived had no love of money, and they noted that those who do love money often are villains.

So said Henry David Thoreau, Mother Teresa, Thomas Paine and Jesus of Nazareth.

Our society may need to change the concept of “success.” Many believe that the person with the most wealth is the most successful. That is far from true.

A wonderful group gave me a little plaque quite some time ago. None of them knew the impact it had on my thinking because it mirrored my exact feelings about success. The plaque reads:

“That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent women and men and the love of children; who never lacks appreciation of the earth’s beauty or fails to express it; who follows his dreams and pursues excellence in each task; and who brings out the best in others, and gives only the best of himself.”

That’s adapted from an original verse by Bessie Anderson.

As an educator, I made book marks with this quotation and gave them to graduating seniors for a couple of years. I then switched to bookmarks with inspirational quotations from great writers and philosophers that were “store bought.” I didn’t appear to be so cheap that way...

If I should ever attain the above-quoted qualifications for “success,” I could die feeling very successful — but absolutely devoid of monetary wealth.

For I would have spent it all on bookmarks.

Harley Johnson is a member of the Board of Contributors, Central Texans who write columns regularly for the Tribune-Herald. He is a retired school superintendent.