I spent the first half of 2016 helping a drug and alcohol addict kick her habit of 20+ years. 6 days inpatient detox. Would have had 30 days rehab if she'd st

I spent the first half of 2016 helping a drug and alcohol addict kick her habit of 20+ years. 6 days inpatient detox. Would have had 30 days rehab if she'd stuck with it. Had lost her driver's license years ago. So after she checked herself out (admittedly, upon my investigating, for some legitimate reasons vis a vis that program), I spent the next couple of months driving her to meetings, providing childcare to make that possible, helping her get to the job her sister found her, then the second job. Making sure she wasn't alone in the evenings, when she would drink... My major point. 6 days at one of the area's premier hospitals. Thanks to the ACA expansion of Medicaid. The rehab program would have gone under that, as well. Foodstamps for her and her kids. A social worker and case management for her daughter (living with grandma). Etc. Etc. I had some warning signs, early on, but I hung in there -- advice from experienced friends and experts advising patience. And thinking not just of her, but of the kids; things seemed to gradually get better with them once I got involved. Anyway... Not just my support. All this public support. That I don't begrudge: Treat the problem. Take care of the kids. Come fall, she's back together with her ex-boyfriend, who was a big Cruz supporter. ("The Constitution! La la la, blah blah blah...") And she -- previously having stated her indifference to politics, except for hating Hillary for whatever gut felt reason -- starts expressing herself as a big Trump supporter. I'd explained to her, early on, that the ACA is what enabled me to keep insurance. I don't get a tax break. It just gives me the opportunity to participate, whereas before insurance companies would look for any pimple as the basis to exclude me. She gained sobriety through the support of the State, and someone who depends on the ACA for his own well-being. None of that seems to matter to her. This experience has caused me to fundamentally rethink my ideas about how the world works and how we can (or can't) tackle these problems. Writing about all this makes me feel kind of small. Laying the situation out there and sounding aggrieved. But I do it, all the same, for the point it impressed upon me: I'm no longer sure some people can be reached, through any level of action and good will. It's a pretty sobering -- and saddening -- perspective. P.S. We've been out of touch for months -- her choice. As far as I know, she's still sober. Making plans a year out. She's doing ok. But there seems to be no connection in her mind with providing that opportunity to others. I've been forced to realize and acknowledge that some people appear to be in it purely for themselves. They can exhibit charm and engagement in furtherance of this purpose. But real empathy and cooperation? And, looking around, it's not just the addicts and "miscreants". There's a significant portion of the population who really does believe and follow "I got mine". And that is all they really respect in others. It is, it turns out, a dog eat dog world. At least when it comes to dealing with these people. Who, en masse, present a formidable problem to a functioning society.