"A society grows great when old [people] plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit."
Well, they aren't guaranteed to get old...
Additionally, caring now, while self-serving in the long run, could appear to others to be a selfless act.
That's the attitude that's running our civilization to the ground...
You could care about your fellow human.
I mean, yeah yeah, all true. But he seems to be coming from a solely self-interest POV and I felt like even from that POV it's inconsistent to not support this protection.