Poverty of Empathy

To the Editor:

When United States Senator Cory Booker was asked what he thought was causing our nation’s turmoil, he was quiet for a few minutes, then answered, “Our nation has a poverty of empathy.”

I have always felt that empathy was a light within us, that we humans have a guiding light deep in our hearts that illuminates and lifts us to feel the pain that others may be going through. I now ask, “What has dimmed that light? Is it diminished forever?” What makes some of us ignore the suffering of other human beings? It is becoming “normal” to look away. Cruelty or indifference is the norm of the day for many folks. Is it the “right wing” influence that promotes an administration that punishes the less fortunate and tells us that it is a small sacrifice to make for a greater, elusive cause? I wonder how that is possible with their claim of being Christian. Jesus called for folks to welcome and give help to those who are different and those who are suffering. Most folks know the Bible story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37. The story teaches that a good neighbor is one who shows compassion and helps those in need regardless of their background or status.

I read in the news that bombs on Gaza have killed or maimed innocent civilians and children. I hear that in the United States of America, someone, legally here, who has used their rightful freedom of speech to condemn this atrocity, has been swept up and carted off to a foreign prison without due process. Where is the outrage among our elected officials? Where is the empathy?

Have we become a nation that turns a blind eye to such injustice? Are we a nation filled with a poverty of empathy?

My heart longs for that light before the darkness engulfs us all.

Patty Reid La Grange