It has always been true that civilization could survive in a reasonably livable form only if the great great great majority of people were civil...living their lives in accordance with principles of honesty, integrity, nonviolence, benevolence, with life as the precious value.. No absolute definitions of those terms were delineated, and people would interpret and apply them differently...but unless those differences were minor minor minor, civilization was at risk.
Is at risk. That is where we are today.
*the pressures of life as it has "progressed" have blurred and dulled its joys
*masses of people feeling deprived, denied, shortchanged in life, have shrugged off civility in pursuit of alleged revenge and/or unearned entitlements
*the killing of innocents is not only not condemned by many, but extolled by many as a force for "the good"
*increasing numbers of suicide bombers perceive no resolution of their grievances in existence, imagining salvation in a non-Earthly dimension, preferring death to life
*religious organizations, once the bedrock of moral teaching and example, are inept, conspiratorial, or worse
*academics at the most prestigious institutions preach the "unprovable arbitrariness" of all ethical codes
*technological frenzy has brought potential global devastation as close as the push of a button
*political leaders, almost without exception, are not exceptions to the raging immorality.
Into the valley of hell we ride, blindfolded. Cannons to the left of us, cannons to the right of us. And reason, our only defense, under attack and in short supply.
Are there 10 moral men to save us?
