I hear this take frequently and I think I understand where it comes from; you can lead a horse to water and all that. However, that thinking serves mostly as a way to disconnect from the suffering we’re seeing similar to a thought-terminating cliché. If you can convince yourself that people who don’t help themselves don’t deserve help, it’s much easier to cope with the existence of their suffering.

I hope this doesn’t come across as a criticism of you – I appreciate that you took the time to share your thoughts with me. Thanks!

Some people just don’t want to listen. I’m with you, the system is broken and we need to fix it. There’s also opportunity and sometimes you have to put in work to reach it.