Skip to content
Words of Wisdom

Charles Lindbergh on Protecting the Next Generation’s Social Inheritance

“Our ideals, laws and customs should be based on the proposition that each generation, in turn, becomes the custodian rather than the absolute owner of our resources and each generation has the obligation to pass this inheritance on to the future.”

Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974) was a legendary American aviator who became the first pilot to complete a solo non-stop transatlantic flight in 1927. He is also known for his isolationist politics leading into World War II and for the tragic kidnapping/murder of his son, Charles Jr. Later in life Lindbergh became a passionate environmentalist who argued for the preservation of endangered species and the protection of natural spaces. For more about Lindbergh’s legacy of environmentalism by way of technological innovation, visit the Lindbergh Foundation website.


“Our ideals, laws and customs should be based on the proposition that each generation, in turn, becomes the custodian rather than the absolute owner of our resources and each generation has the obligation to pass this inheritance on to the future.”

from New York Times Magazine (23 May 1971)

(h/t Wikiquote)


    Related

    Up Next