We’ve all seen at least one of them – the bumper sticker on a trailer or RV that reads, “I’m spending my grandchildrens’ inheritance.”
It’s supposed to be funny or clever or otherwise amusing, but it’s not. It’s true.
We’re burning their oil, polluting their water, spending their money and generally wrecking their planet – and they won’t thank us for it.
Back in 1992, the International Institute for Sustainable Development made a point of calling for governments to look down the road.
“We cannot simply think of our survival; each new generation is responsible to ensure the survival of the seventh generation. The prophecy given to us, tells us that what we do today will affect the seventh generation and because of this we must bear in mind our responsibility to them today and always.”
The idea of looking seven generations down the road is a key component we should all be thinking about particularly hard these days as the climate continues to change and our leaders and the power structures that support them seem not only unable but also entirely unwilling to do anything about it.
In fact, the Canadian government is rolling back even the entirely insufficient measures that have been taken in a race to develop and export as much of Canada’s rich resource heritage as quickly as possible.
There’s a good reason for that, of course.
Our corporate culture demands the maximization of profit and it demands it now.
Future generations – those little tykes wearing the short pants on the tricycles in the backyard – they don’t count for pretty much anything.
We should think about why that is and what we can do about it. We’re running out of time to make the changes they need.
- Comox Valley Record