A moral code

I recently had the opportunity to see an interview with Barrack Obama and Trevor Noah. One of the things they discussed was the decline of democratic governments around the world, which has happened over the last several years. In USA we have seen increased divisiveness and mistrust of our elected officials, with threats to our electoral process which threatens our democracy, ie. the ability to govern ourselves. There’s also a coincident trend in USA toward atheism. The basis of religion is a moral code that accounts for tolerance and respect of others, and also ensures that we are rewarded in the afterlife. The lack of consequence for immoral behavior of people in power, as well as the history of violence and oppression under the flag of religion, can account for the trend toward atheism. As religion is deconstructed, so is the argument for “doing the right thing” for your fellow sapiens. Is the decline of organized religion a good thing? Perhaps there’s another non-religious reason to act compassionately. Our continued survival requires interdependency among our species. We can’t survive without the help of our fellow human beings. We’ve evolved from individuals to tribes of hunter gatherers, to agricultural settlements with division of labor, to our current status of a relatively comfortable life with the help of teachers, doctors, manufacturers, laborers, and distribution experts. As we continue to evolve, let’s rely on logical thinking which justifies the decisions we make as we go forward to ensure our best outcome.