All poster children for birth control.  Made me really sad.  Especially the American kids.  The planet needs a good pandemic.  Sad for the world.  We're all just creepy animals overpopulating the world.

Thanks for the thoughts.  It helps me to reflect on what compassion looks like.  It doesn't have to look the same in all circumstances.  Sometimes people use another's tendancy toward compassion to manipulate them for their own ends.  I will keep in mind that compassion has to have a wisdom component.  I agree that the best thing to do for someone is not necessarily to just treat them nicely and I appreciate my friends who keep me grounded - sometimes through "tough love".  But it is so much easier to be compassionate toward nice people who work hard and help others, isn't it?  My experience is that not-nice people see compassion as weakness and the compassionate as "suckers" and it is very hard to let that go and to just follow your predetermined plan.  The fact is, I don't have the resources to help my brother except through moral support.  Besides, as you alluded to - would a return to good health change decades of self destructive behaviors and turn his life around?  Unlikely.