My gut instinct, before thinking too deeply about this subject, is to say yes. Those who are struggling—and there are so many around Britain today—surely don’t have the time or the headspace to care for, or even try to understand, the lives of others.
I’m also convinced that social media, and the way we communicate today, has played a major part in emphasising our apparent lack of empathy. Without face-to-face conversation and the subtle clues of body language, it’s all too easy to dismiss our fellow human beings. Too many of us behave as though we’re special, as if the normal rules of courtesy and even the law don’t apply. Perhaps that’s because we can remain anonymous and rarely have to face the consequences of our words.
Yet the human race must have possessed shedloads of compassion simply to survive. We would never have reached this point without our remarkable ability to co-operate, support one another and work together.
But there’s no denying that we also have the capacity for astonishing cruelty. British history is littered with atrocities of almost unimaginable brutality. So, are we getting better?
I’ve read time and again that our natural inclination is to care and nurture. If that’s true, why does the world seem to be in such a perilous state? Perhaps it’s because we also evolved to fear outsiders, compete for resources and defend what we believe is ours.
Those instincts aren’t necessarily bad. The problem is that today’s world amplifies the darker side of our nature. Kindness rarely leads the evening news, while hatred and conflict dominate our screens. The countless acts of generosity that happen every single day are quietly overlooked because they don’t make compelling headlines.
So, is empathy really fading? I’m no longer sure it is. Perhaps empathy is still there, just as strong as it’s always been, but too often drowned out by fear, anger and self-interest. If that’s true, then maybe our greatest challenge isn’t to rediscover empathy, but simply to let it speak more loudly.
Is empathy fading?
Was it there anyway? At least, in Russia?
Historically, we are not a country of empathy, I’d humbly say. Our history, even our modern one, is rather ruthless. People do have empathy, of course. I just don’t think there is enough of it in Russian hearts and souls.
Yes, when someone feels bad, say, on public transport, they would be surrounded by people. Still, I don’t really feel that Russian amounts of empathy, charity, and so on, is enough. Yes, there are charity foundations etc. here. Yet, I feel that Mother-Russia is more hard than soft on these issues. People in general are obsessed with their problems.
However, I know some very decent, public people, like Evgeny Roizman, former mayor of Yekaterinburg (a city in the Urals), who make the most of their efforts to help those in need. Well, his foundation was shut down by the authorities. He was brave enough to say things the current regime doesn’t want to hear. Here we go again…
What I think is that empathy in general and political freedom go hand in hand together. We don’t have the latter, so the former has its issues, too.
P.S. I suspect that I, personally, could have been more empathetic in life, too…
Is empathy fading?
In the US, this topic is strange to the point of bizarre. There’s more irony in the subject than you could even imagine; Evangelical Christians believe if a Jewish settler is killed (even while stealing a home), we should all go into deep mourning. If a Palestinian grandmother is killed… no problem at all, everybody knows she was a terrorist anyway.
That total lack of empathy extends to immigrants in the US without proper papers. As an aside, being an illegal immigrant is a minor crime in the US, a misdemeanor. Shoplifting is another example of a misdemeanor. So far, 50 people have died in ICE detention camps. Who cares? Not Evangelical Christians.
The irony in that seems to be completely lost on these people. Jesus says in four different places in the Bible that immigrants should be taken in and cared for. They don’t give a damn. Really; it’s a stunning and complete lack of empathy.
Now I want to pose a problem to you. When something to do with immigration happens to one of these people, they sincerely feel others should show compassion and even speak out on behalf of the victims of ICE. How should we think about Evangelical Christians who suddenly discover they are not citizens after all? Think about that; no empathy makes you as nasty as they are. Show compassion? There’s no chance in hell they would do the same for you. What’s right? This is not some theoretical exercise, it’s happened many, many times.
I’m also taken aback by the complete lack of empathy in the Trump Administration.
- The Olympic athlete accused of harming the reflecting pool is an example. They KNEW he didn’t do anything wrong, but Trump wanted him to get seven years anyway.
- ICE has murdered thirty something Americans on city streets. As a rule, they simply get the murderer on the first plane out of town and announce the victim was a domestic terrorist who tried to kill the “law enforcement officer”. They grab all the evidence and refuse to turn it over to State Investigators. Straight-up murder is fine.
- Pete Hegseth has ordered the US Navy to kill Colombian fishermen. Not a problem.
The lack of empathy makes me feel sad because of how far down Christians have dragged my country.