I often think of what defines a person as "bad" or "good". After a lot of thought, I've decided that it all comes down to one trait: the ability to be empathetic.

I'm surprised that certain people seem to incapable of feeling remorse. Remorselessness and self-indulgent tendencies are two very unsettling character traits that seem to be mutually exclusive. I'm fascinated by people that indulge in their whims, and then when their indulgence ends in someone else getting hurt, they still don't feel any remorse. I've been trying to dissect this common human inadequacy, and have come to a conclusion.

People need to stop punishing their children, and start communicating with them. children that get hit as punishment for thoughtless behavior end up being too afraid of the consequences to really THINK about what they've done. This leads to a society of thoughtless, fear-driven, remorseless people who are incapable of empathy. Yay.