I know and understand it's not literally everyone but I am so used to dealing with statistics in my roles in life that I despair at the ratio. And it's getting worse. We simply don't have enough people who actively care about others and their community to turn it around, and the more you try to shake empathy and decency into people, the harder they push back and resist the notion out of emotional insecurity, spite, and their own biases and struggles.

I have massive respect for caregivers, I could barely do it in my own family. The levels of empathy and sympathy you need feel utterly at odds with the general attitudes of most people. I don't have much in the way of community anymore, but I did try, I even was a political organizer for a spell, but I've watched our nation collectively embrace their insecurities and hate. I used to coach young men and provide alternatives to the incel-rhetoric that was spreading like wildfire across the internet, and with hard work and dedication and compassion I saved more than a handful of young men from falling into that darkness... but there are so, so many, and for every young dude you reach and instill the value of love and emotional intelligence, a thousand will fly right past you frothing with hate and malice, and the ones you DO reach, will almost immediately fall right back into the pit as soon as they have a bad day and start scrolling the forums again.

I am depressed, yes, but I worked hard on it and have mostly overcome the worst rumination and mental effects. Still though, it's really challenging to keep any optimism after seeing so many people making the same mistakes over and over for so many years. I don't know where we're heading but it's nowhere good.