Cory Booker on our nation's failure to live up to its ideals

Cory Booker spoke at an education day I organized last week and was, as always, passionate, brilliant and inspiring.  (Mark my words: after 8 years of Obama, Cory will be President for the subsequent 8 years!)  He made one point I'd never heard before that I wanted to share (this is from memory):

The great civilizations of history (he cited names and dates they fell: Jerusalem, Rome, etc.) didn't fall because they didn't have ideals.  In fact, they had wonderful ideals.  They fell because they didn't live up to their ideals.  Our Pledge of Allegiance concludes with the words, "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."  When the majority of our black and brown children are consigned to schools that fail to educate them, we are not living up to our ideals.