Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
In response to Bishop Mariann Budde urging Trump to show mercy and compassion at the inauguration, a deacon called Ben Garrett urged people not to “commit the sin of empathy”.
It was a weird, backward, way of talking, so I assumed they were a fringe idiot getting their ten minutes of mockery.
Then a few weeks later Musk was on the Joe Rogan podcast and said, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” The full quote is less sociopath and more “stoned philosophy student who wants to look smart”
Ironically, he’s talking about using emotional manipulation to control how people react. I say ironically because he does this all the time.
Weaponizing empathy isn’t a new thing, it’s as old as humanity and it can be devastating. It’s used in a lot of charity scams where they show starving babies and then beg you to give money.
Now to go from saying that there are unscrupulous people preying on our empathy to saying that empathy is a weakness or even a sin, is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be human.
Some days it’s hard to believe it, but empathy is as much part of humanity as fear. I believe that empathy is one of our species’ biggest strengths.
The real sin and the real weakness in all civilizations is the ability to convince ourselves that others aren’t human. The ability to dehumanize, or other, a group of people through language, action, and even laws is the reason for a lot of humanity’s problems.
Hate’s two favourite tools are fear and dehumanization.
When you’re choosing what or who to believe, idolize, or vote for; look at how they treat those that are different from them, especially those less powerful.
Being empathic and working at understanding others is never a weakness, and if God sees it as a sin then I’d rather be a sinner. We can only progress as a people if we treat each other with respect and not only accept but revel in our differences.
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric
