And I'm not sure what the trouble was that started all of this…

 

Full lyrics HERE.

I remember the "Just Say No" years, when Ronald Reagan was president and he let Nancy take the microphone.

There was zero understanding.  There was no attempt at empathy.

I remember the almost gleeful response to John Belushi's death.  He was considered a reckless hedonist who got what he deserved.  

Prominent Christian Jerry Falwell said, "Well, I never thought he was funny anyway."  As if that mattered.  As if that justified an unhappy ending.

 It came out later that John had wanted so desperately to be free of drugs that he'd paid a security guard to shadow him constantly to keep them away from him.  As extreme as that measure was, it proved ineffective.

I think things have gotten a little better since then.  Mathew Perry's death was treated as the tragedy it was.

But other addicts, like Andy Dick and Robert Downey, are still treated as punch lines.

A little empathy would go a long way.