--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today is the parent of tomorrow. The…" description: "\"Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social. Revolution that dive..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/emma-goldman-774_casts_today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-pres_127794.png" --- # Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its… ![“Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social. Revolution that divests itself of ethical values thereby lays the foundation of injustice, deceit, and oppression for the future society. The means used to prepare the…” quote by Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/emma-goldman-774_casts_today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-pres_127794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/emma-goldman-774_casts_today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-pres_127794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/emma-goldman-774_casts_today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-pres_127794.png) > “Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social. Revolution that divests itself of ethical values thereby lays the foundation of injustice, deceit, and oppression for the future society. The means used to prepare the future become its cornerstone.” [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Current actions shape future societies; unethical means create future injustice. **In simple terms:** Present actions affect the future; unethical means cause injustice. Key Takeaway Ethical foundations matter for future. Themes ethics future society Mood concerned determined Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political movements - policy making Key Concepts cause and effect social responsibility Practical Applications - adopt ethical strategies now Questions to Reflect On - What ethical standards guide your decisions? - How can we prevent future oppression? A Different Perspective Unintended consequences can arise despite good intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deceit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceit/) [Ethical values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical-values/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Future society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-society/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Laws of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-of-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-revolution/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Revolution that divests itself of ethical values thereby lays the foundation of injustice, deceit, and oppression for the future society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/revolution-that-divests-itself-of-ethical-values-thereby-lays-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Revolution is but thought carried into action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/revolution-is-but-thought-carried-into-action/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [We need to organize ourselves and protest against existing order - against war, against economic and sexual exploitation, against racism, etc. But to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-need-to-organize-ourselves-and-protest-against-existing-order/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We cannot create blueprint for future society, but it is good to think about that. It is good to have in mind a goal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-cannot-create-blueprint-for-future-society-but-it-is-good-to-think/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [You can't gaze in the crystal ball and see the future. What the Internet is going to be in the future is what society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-gaze-in-the-crystal-ball-and-see-the-future-what-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many people are shrinking from the future and from participation in the movement toward a new, expanded reality. And, like homesick travelers abroad, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/many-people-are-shrinking-from-the-future-and-from-participation-in/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If future society assumes the contours foretold by Marxism, if the jungle of our cities turns to the polis of man and the dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/if-future-society-assumes-the-contours-foretold-by-marxism-if-the/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [If manufacturers are so sure there is nothing wrong with genetically modified foods, pesticides and cloned meats, they should have no problems labeling them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gollner/if-manufacturers-are-so-sure-there-is-nothing-wrong-with-genetically/) [Adam Gollner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gollner/) > [ I have nothing from my childhood. I think you carry those books with you. It's like in \[Ray\] Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451." Books are outlawed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-have-nothing-from-my-childhood-i-think-you-carry-those-books-with/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“The future of our society today lies in the legacy we leave behind for our children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdulazeez-henry-musa/the-future-of-our-society-today-lies-in-the-legacy-we-leave-behind/) [Abdulazeez Henry Musa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdulazeez-henry-musa/) > [“Our current society is designed to achieve growth of industrial output and redistributing its spoils. Future society must expand upon today’s society’s way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanzi-freinacht/our-current-society-is-designed-to-achieve-growth-of-industrial/) [Hanzi Freinacht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanzi-freinacht/) > [The most remarkable discovery made by scientists is science itself. The discovery must be compared in importance with the invention of cave-painting and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-most-remarkable-discovery-made-by-scientists-is-science-itself/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [“The future of a society was not determined by the traits its members shared but rested entirely on their differences”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/the-future-of-a-society-was-not-determined-by-the-traits-its-members/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [At one time in the mid-'70s I became the president of the Boston-Cambridge chapter of the World Future Society. Because I'd been in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/at-one-time-in-the-mid-70s-i-became-the-president-of-the-boston/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [A commonplace of political rhetoric has it that the quality of a civilization may be measured by how it cares for its elderly. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/a-commonplace-of-political-rhetoric-has-it-that-the-quality-of-a/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) ## More by Emma Goldman > [Poor human nature, what horrible crimes have been committed in thy name! All wars are wars among thieves who are too cowardly to fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/poor-human-nature-what-horrible-crimes-have-been-committed-in-thy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Lack of fairness to an opponent is essentially a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/lack-of-fairness-to-an-opponent-is-essentially-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice-2/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Only when human sorrows are turned into a toy with glaring colors will baby people become interested - for a while at least. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/only-when-human-sorrows-are-turned-into-a-toy-with-glaring-colors/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [More pernicious than the power of a dictator is that of a class; the most terrible - the tyranny of a majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/more-pernicious-than-the-power-of-a-dictator-is-that-of-a-class-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Love, the strongest and deepest element in all life, the harbinger of hope, of joy, of ecstasy; love, the definer of all laws, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/love-the-strongest-and-deepest-element-in-all-life-the-harbinger-of/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Whether our reformers admit it or not, the economic and social inferiority of women is responsible for prostitution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/whether-our-reformers-admit-it-or-not-the-economic-and-social/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The free expression of the hopes and aspirations of a people is the greatest and only safety in a sane society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-free-expression-of-the-hopes-and-aspirations-of-a-people-is-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Someone has said that it requires less mental effort to condemn than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/someone-has-said-that-it-requires-less-mental-effort-to-condemn-than/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The persecution of the innovator and protestant has always been inspired by fear on the part of constituted authority of having its infallibility questioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-persecution-of-the-innovator-and-protestant-has-always-been/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Order derived through submission and maintained by terror is not much of a safe guaranty; yet that is the only "order" that governments have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/order-derived-through-submission-and-maintained-by-terror-is-not-much/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Salvation lies in an energetic march onward towards a brighter and clearer future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/salvation-lies-in-an-energetic-march-onward-towards-a-brighter-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The more hideous the mental contortions, the greater the delight and bravos of the mass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-more-hideous-the-mental-contortions-the-greater-the-delight-and/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Leo Tolstoy, the greatest anti-patriot of our time, defines patriotism as the principle that will justify the training of wholesale murderers; a trade that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/leo-tolstoy-the-greatest-anti-patriot-of-our-time-defines-patriotism/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) [Explore all 368 Emma Goldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## More Casts quotes > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [I was focused on The Hunger Games movie with my director, with the studio, and with the cast and crew. We all just focused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-jacobson/i-was-focused-on-the-hunger-games-movie-with-my-director-with-the/) [Nina Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-jacobson/) > [All my life I've been involved with racial politics. I was a Freedom Rider in the South. I was the author of books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/all-my-life-i-ve-been-involved-with-racial-politics-i-was-a-freedom/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/god-hath-work-to-do-in-this-world-and-to-desert-it-because-of-its/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [The bullet that will kill me is not yet cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-bullet-that-will-kill-me-is-not-yet-cast/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [All progress in literary style lies in the heroic resolve to cast aside accretions and exuberances, all the conventions of a past age that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/all-progress-in-literary-style-lies-in-the-heroic-resolve-to-cast/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [I think that people who stand up for what they believe in, no matter how unpopular, should be celebrated, not cast aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-lancaster/i-think-that-people-who-stand-up-for-what-they-believe-in-no-matter/) [Craig Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-lancaster/) > [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/) [Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/) > [Now, we are agreed, I and my destinies. The total world, Above, below, whate'er is seen or known, And all that men, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartley-coleridge/now-we-are-agreed-i-and-my-destinies-the-total-world-above-below/) [Hartley Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartley-coleridge/) > [Sometimes you choose the wrong actor, he could be the best actor ever, but hes not cast in the right part then it doesnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-marceau/sometimes-you-choose-the-wrong-actor-he-could-be-the-best-actor-ever/) [Sophie Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-marceau/) > [I would always cast Meryl Streep for everything. I would do with something inspired by the work of Guy Bourdin, my favorite photographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/i-would-always-cast-meryl-streep-for-everything-i-would-do-with/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) Browse all 2,106 Casts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social. Revolution that divests itself of ethical values thereby lays the foundation of injustice, deceit, and oppression for the future society. The means used to prepare the future become its cornerstone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Emma Goldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Casts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/emma-goldman-774_casts_today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-pres_127794.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/emma-goldman-774_casts_today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-pres_127794.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/emma-goldman-774_casts_today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-pres_127794.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life…” — Emma Goldman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Emma Goldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Today is the parent of tomorrow....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```