Humanity cannot afford to muddle through the rest of the twentieth century; the risks are too great, and the stakes are too high. This may be the last opportunity to choose our own and our descendants’ destiny. Failing to choose or making the wrong choices may lead to catastrophe. But it must never be forgotten that the right choices could lead to a much better world.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of making informed choices for the future to avoid disastrous consequences.
John Holdren's quote reflects the urgency and gravity of decision-making in the context of humanity's future. It asserts that as we navigate through the complexities of the twentieth century, the choices we make now will significantly impact our lives and those of future generations. The notion of either choosing wisely or facing dire outcomes serves as a reminder that our actions have far-reaching implications, and with the potential for both devastation and improvement, the responsibility lies in collective awareness and proactive choices.
In practice
In a graduation speech about the importance of decision-making in life.
Any objective look at what science has to say about climate change ought to be sufficient to persuade reasonable people that the climate is changing and that humans are responsible for a substantial part of that - and that these changes are doing harm and will continue to do more harm unless we start to reduce our emissions.
Wherever the fear of God rules in the heart, it will appear both in works of charity and piety, and neither will excuse us from the other.
Doctors always think anybody doing something they aren't is a quack; also they think all patients are idiots.
I have to live for others and not for myself: that's middle-class morality.
You may have killed God beneath the weight of all that you have said; but don't imagine that, with all that you are saying, you will make a man that will live longer than he.
When the evening was over, Anne could not be amused…nor could she help fearing, on more serious reflection, that, like many other great moralists and preachers, she had been eloquent on a point in which her own conduct would ill bear examination.
One day humanity will play with law just as children play with disused objects, not in order to restore them to their canonical use but to free them from it for good.
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