• thefactremains@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    They would never build for you because you will teach them by example to build for their descendents.

    “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” - ancient Greek proverb

      • Kelly@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        That’s the whole gene vs meme concept.

        The same principal applies in that people who come after you can receive your ideas.

      • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        Not really how our monkey brains work generally. We’re biologically programmed to do lots of things, like want to have babies (or at least sex and not be smart about it) and to take care of them. Not everyone does a good job, but historically speaking it’s led to a population of a few hundred people turning into a few billion.

  • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
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    2 months ago

    I’m from yesterday. When I was a kid in the 70’s, my tomorrow was the triumph of science, an evermore interconnected world of evermore educated people, the rule of individual rights and freedoms, the retreat of religion and magical thinking, fewer and fewer wars and the gradual end of poverty.

    I’m very bitter today because somebody stole my future. But you can also argue that I, a man of yesterday, failed to shape the world of today too. We all failed, those of my generation.

    If you’re a person of today, you need to work towards a better tomorrow right now. Because if you don’t, you’ll end up regretting not doing it later in life like I do.

  • ToiletFlushShowerScream@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Because someone else has already built it for us. It’s our duty to pass it on. And honestly it is the core of what it means to be human. Otherwise you’re a parasite who deserves what parasites deserve.

  • bigboismith@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Not sure why this is so downvoted , it’s an interesting question.

    There are many things that made us shoot forward in the evolutionary arm race, but one the parts is the sharing of knowledge and values to our offspring.

    Children want to learn from their parents, and parents want to teach their children in the same way they learnt from their parents.

    The early humans who started this generational knowledge sharing fared better, and humans became more social and dependent on each other, while the humans focused on themselves more than their offspring perished.

    It’s in our nature to care for our next generation, in the same way the previous generation cared for us.

  • shaggyb@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Because you are not the main character of the universe.

    You will leave behind consequences for your actions. The consequences of the actions of others gave you the world you have lived in, as will the consequences of your shape the world of the future.

    There is nothing after death and we all know that, so all there’s left to plan for after you die is the legacy of what you did while you were here.

    Speaking for me, I value the idea that the consequences of my life wind up being more positive than negative for future generations. I also value feeling like I’ve changed things for the better now, and so when I have a platform or any influence I aim for that.

    If you don’t care about any of that, please seek counseling. The rest of us will be better off with fewer narcissists.