Mr. Jones had a job that gave him a comfortable income. He enjoyed fishing and motorhome camping. Every year or so he would buy a new combination fish and ski boat, not some little dinghy, but a really nice, fancy boat. Every couple of years Mr. Jones would buy a new motorhome camper. It was obvious that several other men in the neighborhood envied Mr. Jones and tried to keep up with his new toys. They too would buy and sell boats and campers. It was obvious that keeping up with Mr. Jones was a priority in their lives. It's sad though, because such a priority means that you end up thinking that who you are, your value as a person, is determined by how much you have.

Lee Atwater, a political strategist under President Bush, died from a brain tumor at the age of 41 in 1991.1 Reflecting on h…