I am not a dog. I am not a slug. Not a tiger or a mouse. I am not a tree. I am not what we would call an animal or a plant. I am a human-being. Being a human has plenty of perks: we can open cans with our cool thumbs, we cook things not only to a level that they are edible but so that they could be both sweet AND sour (a conundrum many scholars have yet to fully grasp), we don’t have to migrate with the seasons if we don’t want to, and we have tools that range from your basic hammer to small objects that manifest music of a four piece band from 50 years ago. But what is truly special about being human is our ability to think, love, feel, and begin to comprehend all of these things.
The amazing thing about our ability to think and feel (emotionally, not with those grimy hands of yours) is that we understand that other beings also feel and think. And we can begin to relate to others thoughts and feelings at some level. This ability is called empathy.
Empathy is one of the most important characteristics a person can have because we are communal beings. If we all lived as hermits in a vacuum not relying on each other, not living with each other, not communicating with each other, or needing the world around us, then empathy would be completely useless to us. But the fact of the matter is you live in a society. You are part of numerous social groups. And you have benefited from this: your family, your friends, the food you have eaten, the clothes that you are wearing, the roof over your head, and so on.
To feel is to be human and to be a problem solver. Empathy is the driving force in activism for social justice, our mythology of superheroes, and swiping a total stranger into Dana when everyone’s meal plans seem to be running out.
The opposite of empathy is apathy. It is something that has somehow been ingrained in our culture. To be apathetic is to ignore the problems of others while you simply live. Apathy leads to pushing down others for your own self-interests. An apathetic person would look at the world and all of its faults and say: “Eh, I’d rather just watch TV and get high…I mean this episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” is really good and wow, Kim’s butt looks nice.” Apathy and only looking at self-interests leads to inequality and hate towards those who are ignored.
Empathy can unlock the true equality. Feeling empathy for those around you and acting on these feelings can solve injustices, inequality, and make the world a better place to live in, not only for yourself, but for everyone else around you. Apathy can allow you time to truly keep up with the Kardahians. The power of empathy is amazing and if you ignore it and embrace apathy, you are ignoring your humanity.
No Spitting.