I've always thought so too. It's not only common sense to make this life the best possible because there is so little proof of an afterlife, but also it's actually our responsibility to make this world better for our neighbours and the generations that come after us. When you stop banking on the afterlife, this hits home a lot harder.
Of course, the argument could be made that judgment in the next life keeps some people from being worse, or NOT caring about others. Personally that's not me or anyone else I know, and I think, like most things, positive reinforceent works better than threats and punishment, but there are probably people like that out there.
What bugs me the most though, is that there are fundamentalists (Islam and Christian) that are so consumed with the end of days and judgment that they actually seem to be encouraging it. Either directly with actions or indirectly through attitude and apathy. That's where the real danger lies.
EDIT: Shoot, tried the multi-quote there for what Cheese and Textcritic just said and I messed something up obviously, but those comments were the ones I was agreeing with/adding to.
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