Jonas Salk on Being a Good Ancestor

"The human species is, at present, the most actively evolving and the most dominant. This dominance is the cause simultaneously of the dangers and of the opportunities that confront us. Will we choose the path of opportunity or of danger for the future evolution of our species?

We have so altered the conditions of life on the planet, human and non-human, as to become the co-authors of our destiny. Will our actions influence the course of future events in our favor? Will we have the wisdom to perceive the long as well as short-term advantages in the choices we make so as to enhance the quality of our own lives and of the generations to follow? Will future generations speak of the wisdom of their ancestors as we are inclined to speak of ours? It is relevant and even part of wisdom to ask not only are we being good citizens of the world today, but are we being good ancestors.

There is a saying in the West that we cannot choose our parents but we can choose our ancestors. This means that each generation can choose from the past the models left by those who have preceded. It means choosing from the past that which is homologous to what has to be done at this point in time.

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Our ability to choose allows us to choose our ancestors. If we want to be good ancestors, we should show future generations how we coped with an age of great change and great crises. In human history there have been moments of greater insight and foresight, of greater wisdom. Each new generation should emulate such moments in history rather than those marked by blindness, error and decay. With increasing consciousness of ourselves and our forebears we can establish new models valid for generations to come."

Jonas Salk. “Are We Being Good Ancestors?” World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues, vol. 1, no. 2, 1992, 16–17. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/45064193.