“It is wrong to expect a reward for your struggles. The reward is the act of struggle itself, not what you win. Even though you can’t expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That’s morality, that’s religion. That’s art. That’s life.” — Phil Ochs
And of course, Phil Ochs eventually hanged himself. The fact is, human beings are crass, selfish, stupid, short-sighted, perverse, self-pitying sadists who will punish anyone who tries to assist them. That there are those who, century after century, persist in helping a humanity which suffers under the weight of its own brutish idiocy only proves that there is neither justice nor pity in this Universe.
If you find yourself afflicted with the curse of altruism, you really haven’t any choice. Your life will be harsh and miserable, people will despise you, fear you, hate you, and do everything in their power to hurt you. You will likely die young, and your deeds will never be recognized or appreciated. But you’ll do them anyway because you’re an altruist, and this broken, sad, stupid species will stumble on for a few more generations as a result of your sacrifice, so that future generations of altruists will share your misery.