You've heard the story
You know how it goes
Once upon a garden
We were lovers with no clothes
Fresh from the soil
We were beautiful and true
In control of our emotions
'Til we ate the poison fruit
And now it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
Wait just a minute
You expect me to believe
That all this misbehaving
Grew from one enchanted tree?
And helpless to fight it
We should all be satisfied
With this magical explanation
For why the living die
And why it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
Childbirth is painful
We toil to grow our food
Ignorance made us hungry
Information made us no good
Every burden misunderstood
So I swung my tassel
To the left side of my cap
Knowing after graduation
There would be no going back
And no congratulations
From my faithful family
Some of whom are already fasting
To intercede for me
Because it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
You know how it goes
Once upon a garden
We were lovers with no clothes
Fresh from the soil
We were beautiful and true
In control of our emotions
'Til we ate the poison fruit
And now it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
Wait just a minute
You expect me to believe
That all this misbehaving
Grew from one enchanted tree?
And helpless to fight it
We should all be satisfied
With this magical explanation
For why the living die
And why it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
Childbirth is painful
We toil to grow our food
Ignorance made us hungry
Information made us no good
Every burden misunderstood
So I swung my tassel
To the left side of my cap
Knowing after graduation
There would be no going back
And no congratulations
From my faithful family
Some of whom are already fasting
To intercede for me
Because it's hard to be
Hard to be
Hard to be a decent human being
Lyrics submitted by thefallofmath
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Creatures which do not have instincts toward self preservation do not survive. Since well before the evolution of Homo Sapiens, virtually every living creature has had natural instincts for self preservation. Beyond that, the perspective of an individual creature is always its own. Cats don't know what it's like to be dogs, or even what it's like to be other cats. People don't know what it's like to be other people. Men don't know what it's like to be women, or different men from themselves. Thinking of yourself takes zero effort because you ARE yourself. Your own existence and condition are some of the first things anybody ever thinks about. Thinking of others is hard, because others are necessarily a mystery. You can't know how they feel or what they think except through deduction and study. Acting selfishly is natural, instinctive, and easy. Acting selflessly takes thought, consideration, and effort. Being a decent human being is acting against one's own urges to be self-centered, and thinking carefully about the way your actions will effect other people. Thinking is harder than not thinking. Doing something is harder than laying down. It's as simple as that.
Once he made the decision to leave religion behind there would be no going back. His family was likely not impressed; they didn't congratulate him on the decision. I could be wrong, but I like to think this is what he is saying.