"I want to know how Fooletroupe, Bill D, and Steve Shaw and anyone else who considers themselves atheist decides what is right and wrong."

What Steve Shaw said....and for me, simply because I did spend years getting a degree in Philosophy, I was able to put into semi-formal context what I 'felt'. The "Golden Rule" is a good start...then pragmatism, utilitarianism and stuff like Kant's attempts to show why, at the fundamental levels of abstract thinking, there are logical rules which apply....even as some ignore them for short-term personal reasons.

All this added together leads me to be saddened by, but not totally opposed to, such things as abortion, capital punishment, wars of self-defense and population control. I'd like to live in a world where those things were understood as 'sometimes' needed, but rarely employed. I'd like to live in a world where no one argued FOR such things based on superstition and hearsay and prejudice and false gods like 'honor' and 'homeland' and 'tribe'....and people read and studied the ancient religious texts for perspective & context, instead of for artifical rules interpreted for them by priests with 'agendas'.

I like, when possible, to use humor to shed light on the foibles and prejudices of my fellow humans...like Walt Kelly did in "Pogo", and Berke Breathed did in "Bloom County" and Charles Schultz did in "Peanuts"....and I wish I could remember who coined the line.."If all men were brothers, would you let one marry your sister?"

Someone once said that marriage should be a fair, 50-50 balance of give & take...to which a wiser person replied: "Why not a 75-75 arrangement with a 25% overlap to cover the rough areas?"

I kinda like that....I wish countries and politicians, as well as husbands & wives, would take that concept to heart...and not just when rescuing miners....