[FabHK]

How about this formulation:

a) There has been a lot of progress over the millennia (in many ways, from higher life expectancy to less violence)

b) Many people have sacrificed a lot to bring that progress about

c) We ought to be grateful and c2) struggle on.

I think a), b), and c) are uncontroversial, c2) needs to be argued for.

[bitexploder]

I guess that is fair. I just sit down and think broadly about the last 2000 years of human history. I don't know if I would say we should be grateful. It doesn't come down to gratitude. We are here now as humans as a result of some great cosmic turbulence that involved the suffering of a lot of other humans. So, today, as I sit down, I have the choice, and the opportunity, at least here in America, to decide how I am going to spend my effort. It seems like squandering of a great opportunity to not try to improve the lot of humanity just a tiny, infinitely small fraction, by doing what I can to make the world a little bit better, by making myself better, and by making those around me a little bit better. I respect someone's freedom to not believe that. There is no right or wrong answer here. I just feel a personal, moral, imperative to take the balance of those that came before me and work hard. I would channel Carl Sagan here: http://www.planetary.org/explore/space-topics/earth/pale-blu... and put it into cosmic perspective even.