Why 'should' atheists be moral?

[robvalue]

It seems to me that I have both an internal moral compass, and some sort of hard wired code as well.

The compass lets me know if I'm about to do something bad by very strong sensations. It also goes into overdrive if I go through with the bad thing. I guess these are commonly referred to as conscience and guilt. The guilt I feel if I have knowingly done something I feel is very wrong is so overpowering that it is debilitating. It urges me rectify the situation if I can before I can be normal again.

The hard code (I cant think of a better term off hand) is even more powerful in that it can literally stop me doing something. I'm sure it's some kind of evolutionary safeguard. It's not guiding me like my conscience, it's physically stopping me. I have rarely ever tried to overcome it, as it is usually bang on about what it's trying to prevent. It has to do with safety, but also seems to have been crafted from my morals.

So... I have at least 2 systems going on which make my life much easier to live if I go along with them. To fight against them on a daily basis would require so much energy that I'd quickly lose that battle.

Of course extreme circumstances and continued attempts at reprogramming could cause overrides, but on the whole I guess you could say that I follow my morals because it makes for an easier life, as well as feeling right.