Each generation has its own rendezvous with the land, for despite our fee titles and claims of ownership, we are all brief tenants on this planet. By choice, or by default, we will carve out a land legacy for our heirs.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the transient nature of human existence and our relationship with the Earth, emphasizing our responsibility to future generations.
Stewart Udall's quote highlights the inherent connection between humanity and the land we inhabit. It suggests that regardless of our claims to ownership, we are temporary residents of this planet. Each generation has the opportunity and obligation to create a legacy that will impact the lives of those who come after us. This perspective calls for a deeper consideration of environmental stewardship and sustainable living, urging us to think beyond ourselves and to recognize our role in the continuum of life.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech on environmental conservation at a community event.
If, in our haste to 'progress,' the economics of ecology are disregarded by citizens and policy makers alike, the result will be an ugly America. We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon esthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present.
America today stands poised on a pinnacle of wealth and power, yet we live in a land of vanishing beauty, of increasing ugliness, of shrinking open space, and of an over-all environment that is diminished daily by pollution and noise and blight.
If you do things, whether it's acting or music or painting, do it without fear - that's my philosophy. Because nobody can arrest you and put you in jail if you paint badly, so there's nothing to lose.
The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.
To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.
Religion, a mediaeval form of unreason, when combined with modern weaponry becomes a real threat to our freedoms. This religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today.
Good people end up in Hell because they can't forgive themselves.
The essence of the question is the opening up, and keeping open, of possibilities.
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