I understand your argument, the basic gist of which seems to be that we shouldn’t feel sorry for, or help people who have fallen on hard times due to their own

I understand your argument, the basic gist of which seems to be that we shouldn’t feel sorry for, or help people who have fallen on hard times due to their own irresponsible behavior. They should have to live with the consequences, and especially if they still have it better than others who do act responsibly as you feel is the case with the Eisens. You know, there are people out there who feel that we shouldn’t help those of have contracted AIDS through subsidizing drugs or health care when the person got the virus due to risky behavior. I’ve heard people say that although they feel sorry for someone who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion, there is no way they are going to feel sorry for “some fag who got it from romps in a bathhouse”. Hopefully that sounds abhorrent to you, but it really is not far off the logic you are using in the case of the Eisens. Or think of the Katrina victims, which hit the impoverished the hardest. City officials knew there were problems with the levies, and some of the victims behaved in a pretty reprehensible manner (shooting a police/rescue workers, looting, etc.) But you know, despite the clear path of blame, I don’t think the right thing for the rest of the country to do would have been to stand there with arms folded saying “It’s your own damn fault, you fix it! Don’t look to me for a handout!” I know there are people out there who are suffering due to their own irresponsibility, and yes, it is hard to feel sorry for them at times. But what do we do? Let them die? I am not proud to say it, but I once felt the same way as you do about people like the Eisens. But then someone helped me understand that poverty and disease, no matter who is at fault, ultimately effects all of us (e.g. when my neighborhood starts to crumple, my own house starts to lose value.) And at the end of the day, we all make mistakes, and what helps us progress is education and a helping hand, not an “I told you so” lecture.