The more you think about some things, the less sense they make — and if you think too much they just make your head hurt.

Reports of the state of filthy streets in San Francisco, California, provoke a multitude of thoughts. The most immediate thought is we’re thankful Butler isn’t San Francisco.

Then a second thought occurs. What keeps Butler from becoming some ghastly smaller version of that messy metropolis? What can be done now to steer our destiny in a more positive direction?

Can a city like Butler attain big-city prosperity without all the vice that goes along with it?

How dirty is San Francisco? A television news investigation earlier this year revealed a dangerous mix of drug needles, garbage and feces throughout the downtown. The 153 blocks of the downtown includes popular tourist spots, major hotel chains. City Hall, schools, playgrounds and a police station.

The TV news team was busy one afternoon photographing nearly a dozen hypodermic needles scattered across one block when a group of preschool students happened to walk by.

“We see poop, we see pee, we see needles, and we see trash,” said their teacher, Adelita Orellana. “Sometimes they ask what is it, and that’s a conversation that’s a little difficult to have with a 2-year old, but we just let them know that those things are full of germs, that they are dangerous, and they should never be touched.”

In light of the dangerous conditions, part of a preschool teacher’s responsibilities now include teaching young children how to avoid contamination.

Does San Francisco’s titans of economic development share the concerns of a preschool teacher?

Consider this story in the March 18 edition of the San Francisco Chroncicle which begins: “Despite San Francisco’s dirty streets, tourism set a record last year and is expected to continue growing.”

The article went on to explain that the number of visitors to the city rose 1.2 percent to 25.8 million in 2018, and spending rose 2.3 percent to $10 billion, according to data released by San Francisco’s tourism bureau. San Francisco International Airport had a record-high 57.8 million passengers in 2018, up 3.1 percent from the previous year.

International visitors spent $4.9 billion. Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany accounted for the most tourists from abroad.

Welcome to San Francisco. Enjoy your stay. Watch your step — constantly. Wipe your feet — frequently.

In February, Fox News’ John Stossel spent some time on the streets of San Francisco. What Stossel found was compelling.

Some store owners hire private police, But San Francisco’s police union complained about the competition. Now few private cops remain, and street people dominate neighborhoods.

Stossel followed one private-duty cop, who asked street people, “Do you need any type of homeless outreach services?” Most said no. “They love the freedom of not having to follow the rules,” said the cop.

And here’s the kicker: San Francisco is generous with free stuff. It offers street people food stamps, free shelter, free transportation and $70 a month in cash.

“They’re always offering resources,” one homeless man told Stossel. “San Francisco’s just a good place to hang out.”

So, every week, new people arrive, asking not what they can do but rather, asking what can be done for them.

Free stuff is what’s being promised by a bevy of neophyte candidates for the 2020 presidency. Free health insurance, free education, increased minimum wage, universal child care, rent subsidies, reparation for descendants of slaves.

One of the earliest Christian leaders wrote: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers who will tickle their ears with what they want to hear.”

Free stuff will not rebuild or redeem us or our community. Only a renewed sense of vision and purpose will restore a city — or a country. One way or the other, San Francisco will demonstrate this principle for us, if we’re willing to observe with some impartiality.