Past, Present, Future

The late, great American philosopher Russel Kirk pointed out (The Conservative Mind) that the greatest moral duty is the survival of the human race.  Its survival, however, depends on a partnership between generations past, present, and future.  The past, present, and future are stakeholders in the decisions we make today.  The persons who came before us worked and fought hard to give us life and a heritage of humane values; these values, in turn, have allowed us to live prosper.  We, in turn, need to make sure that we pass this heritage forward to the next generation.  Therefore, when we make decisions we must factor the next, future generations, as well as our legacy from past generations.  As Kirk observed, we are connected with both past and future, for we, the human race, cannot exist without these connections.  When trend forecasters talk about ethical decision making, in effect, they are using Kirk's model for human survival.