In retrospect …

Man is a social being, and therefore, among all the objects for his love

that there are in the universe and beyond it, he ought, I suppose, love his

fellow human beings first and foremost.
But he should also love all

non-human living creatures, animals, and plants as well because they are

all akin to man; they too are branches of the great tree of life. This tree

has a common root; we do not know where the root comes from, but we

do know that we all spring from it.
Man should also love inanimate

nature, because this, too, is part of the universe which is man’s habitat.

(Our children and grandchildren) are not responsible for the existing state of the
world. The reality is that the
middle-aged generation (the parents of the rising generation) brought them into
the world and is educating or

miseducating them, or just ignoring their educational needs.yes””> If the

middle-years or older generations are indignant at the rising generation,

who is really at fault? Who shirked their responsibilities to their

children and grandchildren? And with whom lies the initiative to resolve

these inadequacies? In effect, it is up to the older generation to take the

initiative to bring about reconciliation between itself and the generations

that are to follow them.

Surviving The Future, by Arnold Toynbee, Oxford University Press, 1971)

[Mike]