Thank you for the great post and for taking the time and thoughtfulness to prepare in depth replies. What I am looking at is.... is there a morality beyond good and bad? In other words, I have been studying Bhagavad Gita and it is a great discussion of just this issue. The main character is a leader and he is faced with a moral dilemma. Perhaps you are familiar with the scenario presented there. According to "duty" he is sworn to certain codes of behavior but he if he performs his duty it will mean fighting and killing in battle relatives and respected members and leaders of the society. Kind of like Hamlet. To be or not to be.. Whether it is better to oppose them and end them... kind of thing. If he goes back on his sworn duty he will be a laughing stock and have no leadership influence ever again. Branded a coward. Or in modern day terms a flip-flopper. This impasse brings him to his knees and to tears. He is forced to seek what is the highest morality. His conclusion is to depend on God. He does his duty, everyone is killed. Bhagavad gita has to be the greatest dissertation on morality ever.. Thanks for letting me look a little deeper at this dynamic and the great discussion.
If you have minute... this has to be the best translation available... free online https://prabhupadabooks.com/bg?d=1