&gt; <i>Does it matter in the long run? All civilizations eventually die out.</i><p>Does anything matter in the long run? Everything will eventually die out, universe included.<p>&gt; <i>Let&#x27;s not pretend like we care about future generations.</i><p>Well, I honestly do.<p>&gt; <i>I doubt the glorious Roman empire or the Egyptian empire were worth anything to ordinary folks living at that time</i><p>I don&#x27;t know about Romans or Egyptians, but as an ordinary low-to-middle-class citizen of a developing country <i>I like it in here</i>. Yes, the western civilization has a lot of bad aspects. But I like the stability we have, the progress we&#x27;ve been making. I want my children to live in an even better world, where various disabilities can be cured through the advancements in medicine, where people have some, if limited, time for intellectual pursuits, where there is a base on the Mars. Where people can believe in whatever god they want, or none at all, and generally don&#x27;t kill each other over it.<p>So I apologize if I&#x27;m being too protective of the civilization I live in, but I like it and I want it to continue. For myself, my children and their children, and every other human too.