Agree 100% to every statement you made.

But umm.. you realize that just by changing religion's name it doesn't stop being religion? Like, just because now instead of striving to go to heaven or achieve enlightenment or some other afterlife or any other form of supernatural transcendence, we now strive for a better society of tomorrow and understanding the universe... as long as people are willing to kill and die for their version of how to achieve their notion of paradise/transcendence/whatever is meaningful to them, and leaders are capable of using this conviction to build empires, there isn't any meaningful difference?

You might argue we got rid of "magic", but again.. changing names... Statistical anomalies, higher curled up dimensions, superimposed states.... Just because we have observed bizarre phenomena that has blown our minds and have the ability to predict some of it's behavior does not mean the eradication of all the unknown is possible. And that's all "magic" is and was. The unknown over which we have little control.

Yes, the world is a lot more than psychopaths, and yes, religion was and is fucked up, and there is enormous value to kindness and compassion which we should all strive for, but I'm sure we can agree psychos play a big role in leadership and people have a hard time seeing the stories of their time for what they are.

And, as a reminder, if someone has an advantage over others in the game of achieving power does not mean it's wise to do as they do or that they are any more (or less) valuable than anyone else. They're just good at a game. My comment was in no way a message of admiration, rather a declaration of resignation.