Guardians Not Owners

“The knowledge that we are strangers teaches us to reach beyond the boundary of ‘us’ and extend friendship and reciprocity to ‘them’. The knowledge, too, that the earth is not ours, that we are temporary residents, heirs of those who came before us and guardians for those who will come after us in turn, steers us away from the destructive impulse which may sometimes come to those who have no stake in a future beyond their lifetime.”

Dignity of Difference, Chapter 4