If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you open to my ideas
John CleeseRead
Would you take a billion dollars, if as part of the deal the Earth were made uninhabitable a year after your death? ... well, of course not; you care about your friends, above all your children, any grandchildren. But ... what if the deal calls for the planet to be poisoned a thousand years later? We feel strong obligations to generations in the near future - should we not feel the same way about our children's great-grandchildren and generations beyond them?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes our moral responsibility towards future generations when making choices that could harm the environment.
John Cleese's quote prompts us to reflect on the ethical considerations of our actions in relation to the environment and future generations. While we instinctively reject harmful deals that would affect our immediate descendants, the quote challenges us to extend that concern to future generations far beyond our own, highlighting the importance of sustainability and long-term thinking in our decisions.
Themes
EnvironmentFuture GenerationsSustainabilityMoralityResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on environmental ethics, you might use this quote to illustrate the importance of considering future generations when making decisions.
More from John Cleese
All quotes →Because, as we all know, it’s easier to do trivial things that are urgent than it is to do important things that are not urgent, like thinking. And it’s also easier to do little things we know we can do than to start on big things that we’re not so sure about.
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If you are leaping a ravine, the moment of takeoff is a bad time to be considering alternative strategies.
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I used to desire many, many things, but now I have just one desire, and that's to get rid of all my other desires.
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When the target audience is American teenage kids, you can have problems. My generation prized really fine acting and writing. Sometimes you have to go back to the basic principles which underpin great visual comedy.
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