WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER...

[Cyberman]

It seems that the time is ripe for opinion and lies to replace truth and morality.

Yes, I'd noticed you'd posted again.

And now that God has been ceremoniously and conveniently stripped from society... EVERYTHING will be based on public opinion. The lines will be blurred; and goal posts with wheels on what was once a moral foundation. ONE, that held all else to a higher standard.

If this "God" of yours truly is in charge, how can anything we humans do possibly have any effect on whatever its plans might be? Is it so ineffectual that we can tell it to piss off and it obeys like a whipped dog?

Or is there some simpler, more prosaic explanation?

Even atheists must agree, that the society as we are now morphing into is due to a lack of instilled morality.

As a non-US citizen I find this level of parochial generalising quite insulting.

I've heard here, that empathy is all that one needs to build a moral bases.....

All? No. But without it, any system of morality is going to be a total bastard to enforce.

I ask, where do you find that in the general public? Who finds empathy, and where? A video game, or sniper movie? Perhaps an evening of s&m porn will make one empathetic? No, there is no tap for empathy. We hope some parent, somewhere is teaching their child how to empathize.... and not to walk by a bleeding person in the street who may be our child!

Back in '01/02, I was walking back from a friend's house with my Sam. It was late evening, dark and the street was almost completely deserted apart from two women approaching from just ahead of us. Suddenly, Sam went into one of the fits to which she was prone, and I eased her gently to the ground and knelt beside her. I knew that the best course of action was to make sure she was safe while she rode it out.

The two women saw what was happening and asked if they could help. I noticed that, rather incongruously, one of them was carrying a large glass jar of coins, which she gave me to hold while she attended to Sam. After a few minutes, Sam came out of it, declined the offer of an ambulance (we knew from experience it was largely a waste of time), we returned the jar and everyone continued on their way.

Now consider the scene from their point of view. They are carrying this money when they see two strangers apparently in trouble, one of them collapsing to the ground. For all the women knew we were a couple of thieves working a scam. Yet they didn't hesitate to offer assistance, nor to hand over their money without fuss or comment.

Similarly, I have many times gone out of my way to render assistance when it's been needed.

That's where I find empathy.

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I'm back, by the way. Thanks for all the support and patience.