Also, your quote from Adams well exemplifies the thinking of the men who created this country and the Enlightenment principles that undergirded their approach to government. Our efforts ought to be, in the long run, toward pursuing happiness through art, nature and the things that feed our spirit, not our pocketbook. Our current culture proves that the latter doesn't work. Obviously we have a lot of work to do in order to get back to the kind of society they hoped for, with systemic changes needed in all the areas you mention, starting with education.