One time I was meeting with the chief of police of Beverly Hills, California, to obtain a filming permit, because I was working for the Epilepsy Foundation of America, and we were filming a commercial (psa, actually) with Henry Winkler. The chief was most interested in why a young LA woman would want to work for a nonprofit instead of for the studios. He told me he had studied these things, and he said an altruistic streak develops when one of the child's parents dominates, abuses, or subjugates the other parent. The child sees this, and tries to help the weaker parent, and learns a pattern of behavior that goes on their whole life.
Well, this does describe me. I had a father whom I loved, but who was like OMT (Old Man Twist) in many ways. And my mother, the youngest of eight children, was a lot like Alma. As the oldest child, I could never be like my mother, and also because I have a lot of my father in me. But I have tried to turn my forcefulness to good ends because I have seen what it's done when misused. This is a pseudo scientific way of partially answering the question U put so eloquently, Vic.
