What I'm going to write here will sound hard and inhuman. I am not taking any stand here and am merely elaborating on a discussion I had with someone over tea recently. The person happens to be a reputed doctor, who devotes a lot of time towards social and scientific projects that help the poor. As the wheel of time rolls by, Mother Nature has tested a multitude of species for their ability to survive. Many have passed. Many have not. Those that did at some point of time, probably did not make it through another hurdle. This iteration goes on and only the fittest continue to breath today. I once read that a particular kind of snake, leaves the vicinity of its own eggs as they begin to hatch. Why? Because it knows fully well that it might end up eating its own offspring. Without anyone to protect them, many of these young snakes are struck off the roster of life soon. But the few that do grow up strong. Bird Joe feeds its young until its time for them to learn how to fly, after which, the chicks are made to fend for themselves. Hard love? It works. The humans, being the geeks of the animal kingdom, have managed to evolve into a being of higher understanding, at least on a relative scale. Our thoughts plumet into the abyssmal depths of life and death. Our will to survive has become so strong, that over time, we continue to learn new ways to cheat the grim reaper of his harvest. Modern medicine has rendered many a disease 'curable'. Science and technology have eased our lives so much, that the amount of physical and mental strain we need to endure is going down a steep curve. Longevity is on the rise. All of this has a very positive air about it, and makes one glad that we aren't living in the past. Our society has had a habit of preserving the weak. We call this humanity. The impaired live as long as their healthier brethren, and even breed a new generation of impaired, sending down genes into another generation. The impoverished often don't make the cut in a fast moving world, remain poor, and become parents to children who're again born impoverished. Another case is where the incompetent are taken care of society (useless people being looked after by their aging parents?), relieving the person of a do-or-die situation. This goes on and on, with the numbers multiplying rapidly. Our weak continue to be preserved instead of perishing. Have we defied nature's way? If yes, when will our species be made to pay for it? Are we already paying the price? If our weak become weaker, and the strong become stronger, how will this affect us as a species? I can think of way too many questions here. But I see the sunny side here by trying to think that by trying to strengthen the weak over time, there is hope that all of mankind converges into the stronger side someday, maybe several millennia later. That soft love might be the key to survival. If so, we have yet again proven ourselves as supreme (in a king of the hill sesnse at least). As above, so below. :)