> From what broad tradition do you acquire your sense of what is good, normal and worthwhile in life, and – if I can put it this way – your general vibe too? When I’ve asked my non-religious friends, colleagues and students this question, they’re almost always stumped. Their impulse is to say one of three things: ‘from my experience’, ‘from friends and family’ or ‘from human nature’. But to this I reply, as politely as possible, that those are not suitable answers. Personal experience, friends and family and human nature are situated and formed within wider social, political and cultural contexts. So I ask again: ‘What society-or-civilisation-sized thing can you point to as the source of your values? I’m talking about the kind of thing that, were you Christian, you’d just say: “Ah, the Bible,” or “Oh, my Church.’’’

Simple: Our constitution, our legal framework that (mostly) protects us from corruptive forces, our ability to trust that sellers can't sell us poison and lie to us about it, our ability to enter into transactions with total strangers without worry, our free elections, our freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of movement, freedom to be who we are.

People are stumped because they're not looking at it for what it is. There's no mysticism wrapped around our secular societies like there are around religions, so people tend to not notice it. But if you look at it - REALLY look at it - it's nothing short of miraculous what we've achieved. Life before we had these things was VERY, VERY different from the peace and prosperity we've enjoyed for almost a hundred years.

And it's unfortunate that people have become so entitled and myopic that they've lost sight of it to the point where they actually favor strongmen as heads of governments...

Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone.