A spoonful of medicine to help the sugar go down. The only place we ever got that was with other kids. Like the Mexican boy who stole my Padres hat right from my head in elementary school. I was paralyzed, helpless, because the recess bell had just rung and there were no adults to sort out the situation and administer fair and just punishment. I was horrified of being punished for not getting back to class, so I left the boy and returned to my class with my tail between my legs.
People make promises, and do so readily to avoid disappointing others in the present.
Like maxing out their credit cards, immediate gratification for some reason takes precedent over true honesty, or commitment, or delivery. You can change the world, leave your mark upon it. But really, there are people today who arrive at the conclusion that the only way they could ever leave their mark is to walk into a school or office or restaurant with an automatic weapon. In the grand scheme, our lives amount to very little. Genetically speaking, we're just another organism that has adapted to effectively reproduce itself.