Many people praise themselves for being super scrupulous. If you hear them talk, they swear they would never commit a crime and that they behave with impeccable morality under any circumstance.

Human morality is a fundamental norm. It keeps people from stealing, swindling, killing and seriously harming others. Without most of humanity’s moral standards, the world would turn into chaos, with each person doing whatever he/she pleases. Millions of judges and policemen would not suffice to restore order on the streets.

For example, let’s think about what is happening in Somalia. People have abandoned every inch of human morality and have become literal wolves against one another. The same goes for Syria, Libya and other locations where ruthless wars have caused a drastic crash in the economy, shattering human decency to pieces. This chaos may continue unburdened for several decades.

Human morality is fickle: it varies depending on the circumstances of different time periods. In the past, having an abortion was considered a moral crime. But today, if somebody tries to dissuade a woman from performing an abortion, he is considered an immoral person, playing on the strings of a distressed woman’s heart and causing her unjustifiable feelings of guilt.

Up until recently, a man who offered assistance to an individual who wished to end his days “successfully” was almost considered a killer. But today, doctors in white blouses hand out cups filled with poison to their patients so they may drink and end their days “with dignity”.

In the not-so-distant past, people went out of their homes properly clad. Only some savage African or Amazonian tribes hung out in public in loincloths. Civilized people wore clothing.

Today people complain that schools’ dress codes, prohibiting girls from wearing trousers, are primitive and irrelevant. Today, we could gather a list of thousands of relative celebs, men and women who posed nude on photos and film.

But we also notice proportional changes in the opposite direction. Things that seemed pretty insignificant in former times are considered deplorable today and nobody can grasp how they could ever be considered normal. For example, how could white men invade Africa, drive away black people and shoot them like ferocious boar, or enslave them, beat them up and isolate parents from their children, all of the above for monetary profit?

How could people chase “witches” and burn them alive, based on improbable rumors about alleged practice of sorcery? How could officers execute soldiers on the grounds of light disciplinary infractions without a word of protest? How could nobility subjugate the “lower classes” and even occasionally hang them under alleged claims they had stolen goods? And all of the above without proceedings nor proof?

Well, all these acts were considered morally right in former times. Moral codes had established that black men be subordinated by white men. What’s not normal?

Under these conditions, what is the value of human morality? Frankly, it’s worth peanuts. Who can argue whether within twenty years, executing a 70-year-old senior will no longer be considered a crime? Quite the contrary, some could claim it’s a service to spare him facing his difficulties of old age. Perhaps a day will come when killing dairy farmers for imprisoning innocent cows and stealing their milk or stealing the rich man’s money (since he doesn’t really need it) will be justified?

Human morality is beneficial to maintain societal order. But considering it as the only compass to distinguish good from evil is a big mistake. Morality should rely on moral values and not on a desire to be more open and liberal.