I think the problem with studying literature is that it has gone overboard in some respects. It is no longer in touch with reality.

I have read news (most of it bad) every day for at least 60 years. I am not depressed and I'm certainly not demotivated.

Most people get depressed because they are reaching for the stars, and they are not capable of getting there. Or they're comparing themselves with other people, and they find themselves lacking. I've never been guilty of that, so despite a traumatic life, I'm not depresesd.

In my experience, the only time people start taking action against danger is when it hits them directly.

I also think it's absurd to ask people to show compassion and empathy. Human emotions are the result of things we see and hear. We cannot and do not control them. Most of our emotions are not compassion and empathy. We all have all sorts of emotions ever few minutes.

Empathy and compassion are not going to solve the worlds' poblems, and this is one the things I mean when I say that literature is misleading a lot of people.