It is your duty ….. not only the duty of teachers to pass on the torch of knowledge down from generation to generation.
It is thanks to the generosity of the millions of mostly anonymous human beings, who lived and died before you, that in today’s modern world, we have medicine and technology from agriculture to grow food to fill your stomach, to trains, smartphones and even something as simple as a pair of shoes to save you from crippling injuries in your feet.
It is thanks to selfless acts of passing down their knowledge and discoveries, that each of these technologies have improved time and time again.
We are lucky to have been born into a world with such advanced infrastructure and not the ice age or a bloody, violent medieval age in which citizens would randomly murder each other on the street over a bag of corn.
Yet very few of us stop to reflect on such fortunes, as we feel disadvantaged by not having a better car or a bigger house.
The knowledge that is in your head today, is also thanks to your teachers, parents and nowadays the internet, which is in a constant state of evolution but still depends on the contribution of real people to update that information.
Therefore, there is not a single thought in your head that is not based on the generosity of other intellectuals who stimulated your critical questioning, nor is there a single cell in your body which has been replicated, without the food and energy created by other humans working the fields and orchards to grow that fuel for your body.
We can look back through the ages of time to such inspirational cultures as Ancient Egypt (3150 BC – 30 BC) the Greek Empire (800 BC-600 AD), the Roman Empire (27 BC-1453 AD) and the Celts (750 BC to 12 BC), or even as far back as pre-religious times such as cavemen.
All of these civilizations have one thing in common. They all passed down the torch of knowledge from one generation in society to the next.
It is senseless to take your knowledge to the grave with you ….. just as it is senseless to try to take all your money to the grave with you. It can only serve a greater purpose here on earth for those future humans who will benefit from that knowledge and those resources.
In other words, it is for a greater good ….. much greater than you and your family.
It is with a sense of responsability towards the rest of humanity that we continue getting out of bed every morning and moving forwards.
With the right knowledge …. you too can make a small contribution to the human race.
