I appreciate this post a great deal because it's very personal to me. Sometimes I find myself undecided of whether or not I'm agnostic or just some kind of universal spiritualist. This because I see deep value in culture and tradition and with that the evolution of religions, beliefs, and the various qualities that make social groups unique.

Many moral justices have demonized, demoralized, dehumanized, and have committed genocides based on different moral beliefs. I learned this early in my life, living in Massachusetts not far from Salem where people were burned for being accused of Witchcraft. Not much had changed here other than the fact that burning people alive is now considered illegal. Sometimes I wonder how those people could justify burning a human being alive but demonize basic chemistry (like making asprin) as voodooo.

I have great respect for life, all life. Simultaneously, I see it in raw form. I was just educating a vegan friend of mine about the life of a lettuce — and how it can hear itself being eaten alive. She laughed at me until I shared the science. My point was, at least we kill animals before we eat them. She thinks I'm crazy. I'm probably crazy.

Getting to a point I think, lol... Oh yeah, well, many people have found themselves intolerant of me in the past because I hold that morals are not absolute. In the past I've argued the seemingly positive applications of just about every "sin." Folks don't like that shit...

For instance, is it wrong to lie to save a life? Is it wrong to lock up and murder a serial baby rapist? Is it wrong to be greedy to have something to feed your children? Is it wrong to steal something back that someone stole from you?

Some argue that circumstancial ethics are not ethics at all. And I'd argue that absolute ethics are the embodiment of delusion.

Why is humanity so bent on being gods to the exclusion of being mammals— lacking empathy for anyone who is different?

There I go "circle-talking" again... Thanks for posting this. You're much better than organizing your ideas than I. I learn a lot from you.