Reply #100: Civilization is actually a very fragile thing

[Old Mouse]

The cities we live in, the societies we have made are not our natural state of being. Culture is born from a desire to transcend our animal nature. We are each and every one of us a combination of our animal desires behaving within the acceptable rules of our collective moral environment. Change the rules and we change with it.

The torture of your fellow man is either abhorrent, and considered a crime against humanity, or it is a legitimate practice that will be used against anyone that disagrees with authority. Once accepted for any reason, there will be no middle ground.

Lynching to prevent the mere suggestion of a black man touching a white woman, with or without consent, was not only morally acceptable behavior in my great-grandfather's time, it was a popular pastime. Morality lost is gone for generations.