There are many paths to Truth, but regardless of your faith or ideology, one truth is above all else: Life must continue.

Sent on
June 16, 2016
by
Anonymous
Send Your Own Message

Dear Ya’Ash,

On this, my first Father’s Day, I write to tell you about the love and principles that guided my life and my decisions when I spent six years in Sacramento as a member of the Assembly fighting for our environment.

When I was 17, I swore and oath to God to do all I could to protect this community both for those who are in the community and its environment now and in future generations. Someone might understandably criticize this earnestness and presumption, but I can tell you that I had so much empathy that the pain and struggle of other life, human and animal, was ever present and real to me! I also learned that true leadership was taking care of the long term. The Iroquois put it in this way, that we should be making decisions thinking about their effects seven generations into the future. The original language was:

In all of your deliberations in the Confederate Council, in your efforts at law making, in all your official acts, self-interest shall be cast into oblivion. Cast not over your shoulder behind you the warnings of the nephews and nieces should they chide you for any error or wrong you may do, but return to the way of the Great Law which is just and right. Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground – the unborn of the future Nation.

I have tried to use these words to guide my decisions in environmental policy, for climate change, for policy relating to the use of the resources in our natural world; but also my decisions in all other areas of my life. And, I hope your mother and I are able to structure a home and an upbringing for which this is one of the principle foundations.

There are many paths to Truth, but regardless of your faith or ideology, one truth is above all else: Life must continue. What good are beliefs if there is no one left to believe in them? And for life, like any system’s resiliency, its diversity must be maintained. Any assault on the diversity of life is ultimately an assault on all life, including human life.

I love you,

Your Dad

Share on:
 
Send Your Own Message

More Messages to the Future

 

Dear fellow human,

May my tomorrow include more attention to these details so that you know that I do care.
 

Dear Rosie,

But when you are reading this years from now, by the light of a solar powered lamp, know that your dad, mom and millions of others who burned brightly with love for our kids did what we could, when we knew the stakes.
 

Caro me stesso,

Non so dove e con chi sarò nel 2050, spero che sia un anno migliore di quello appena passato .
 

Dear Tomorrow,

I promise to ride a bike and take a smart train.
 

To the future generations,

I will stand on the streets, in the courts, and in the schools to encourage awareness and empathy for the earth.
 

To future Geof,

Cool, now that your jetpack is put away in your garage where you keep your flying car; how did the aliens save us from our own destruction? Did they have this hyper advance vacuum that just sucks all the greenhouse gases out of our atmosphere?
 

I promise to help people! Become more aware!
 

Dear Finley,

I wonder if in 2050 we will be looking at a future where fear from the changes at hand has caused people to hate rather than love and provide hope. Perhaps in that world we will we no longer comprehend the biblical texts in a meaningful way. Will climate change be the end of the epoch of God?
 

We will look back on our time here and ask, “What did I do?”

If we truly live our present moment, maybe you’ll have a future.
 

To the Future Generations,

I look at my baby niece today. The newest member of our family, just 3 days old. What will be left for her and her grandchildren?

 

Dear future Michelle,

As consumers, it is our duty to protest and force companies to be greener and avoid environmental damage, whether they are from the food industry or from any other production industry. It’s about time we start thinking greener.
 

Dear Future Self,

It was 2020, the year I realized that life is fragile—not just mine, but the entire planet—through immense consumption, pollution, greediness, ignorance, false bliss. This wasn’t the way I wanted to live my life, so I promise to actively make the change.
View All Messages

Send Your Own Message