Crikey, that is annoying! I'd agree that it's a symptom of human nature, but I suspect particularly so in this place and time. We haven't always been this gormless, and I suspect in other parts of the world the proportion of people who expect their arse to be wiped for them is significantly lower.

I had some trouble with the NYT link but found the article. Thank you. It was refreshing to read an opinion other than "OMG, you want to have kids?! That's so evil!" which seems to have featured strongly of late amongst the articles I've come across on this topic.

Excuse my pedantry, but I feel compelled to point out that ABs are useless against viral lurgies such as flu. If you've been prescribed such, it's probably to tackle an opportunistic attack by something bacterial going for your compromised sinuses. I hope you feel better soon. And have a great weekend :)