Does America Have a Crisis of Empathy?

            Ben Shapiro believes that America has a crisis of empathy because it “is divided over two mutually exclusive definitions of empathy.” He also believes that the American divided cannot be bridged and is “tearing the country down the middle.” 

            According to Shapiro this crisis has nothing to do with charitable giving, governmental spending, or being tolerant racially and religiously. He admits that an individual American donates about seven times as much as Europeans do, and the United States far outspends all other nations. In addition, “America is one of the most racially and religiously tolerant nations on Earth.” So, what is causing the empathy crisis?

            Shapiro describes the two groups as “neutrality-driven empaths” and “emotion-centered empaths.” The first group “defines empathy as treating people as individuals capable of free choice and deserving of equality under the law.”

In this view, empathy manifests in respect for the capacity of other human beings, and in understanding that they make different decisions than you would. This version of empathy doesn’t require that we agree with anyone’s decisions, but that we understand that it is not our job, absent significant externalities, to rule them….

Neutrality-driven empaths believe that politics ought to be about solutions geared toward equality of individuals before the law. Policy and emotional empathy may come into conflict in this view.

            The second group, according to Shapiro, “believes that empathy means mirroring solidarity with subject feelings in policy. I

In this view, empathy means expressing agreement with someone else’s specific feelings, refusing to assess whether those feelings re merited or justified, and then shaping policy around assuaging those feelings.

Emotion-centered empaths … believe that politics ought to be bout emotional solidarity rather than finding solutions. Policy must follow emotional empathy in this view.

            Shapiro used the question of black student test performance for an example. Neutrality-driven empaths suggest that using meritocratic standards is the “only neutral rule that can be applied to education” and that “such standards have acted as a ladder” for various races. They believe that the underperformance of “a disproportionate number of black students” on such tests merit empathy but not the discarding of the standards.

            On the other hand, according to Shapiro, emotion-centered empaths suggest that the underperformance of black students “requires discarding testing regimes. Any other action would “abandon solidarity with those who underperform, to ignore the myriad factors that undoubtedly led to the underperformance in the first place.”

The battle between neutrality-driven empaths and emotion-driven empaths creates a massive political asymmetry. That’s because neutrality-driven empaths acknowledge that while people may disagree over policy, that does not mean they are uncaring or cruel.

But for emotion-driven empaths, the opposite is again true: If policy is directly correlated with empathy, failure to agree represents emotional brutality and cruelty. Not only that: There can be no agreeing to disagree, because to suggest that people bear consequences for their actions is in and of itself uncaring and unempathetic. It lacks solidarity.

            There lies Shapiro’s reasoning for claiming that the “empathy gap is a crisis” in America. On one side of the great divide, “empathy means treating people as individuals capable of reasoning and acting under neutral rules.” On the other side of the gulf, “empathy means shaping policy around solidarity with subjective feelings.” This means that “rules become kaleidoscopic, variable, and fluid – and compulsion is generally necessary in order to effectuate such rules.”

            A society can survive and prosper when adopting neutrality-driven empathy, but it will shrivel and die using emotion-driven empathy and coercion. Shapiro concluded with this statement:

Empathy for people as full human beings means recognizing their agency, understanding their differences, and holding fast to equality before the law. If we reject those principles in favor of a high-handed and paternalistic approach to power politics, freedom will not survive.

            This conclusion takes us right back to the discussion about equality and equity. It is possible to give equal opportunities to achieve success, but the degree of success will depend on the individual. The person’s talents, skills, knowledge, determination, work ethic, etc. will determine if they become a success. This is the same reason why we cannot guarantee equity in results – unless it is equity in poverty and sorrow. I agree with Shapiro: America has an empathy crisis. There are too many people who want success handed to them rather than the opportunity to work for greater success.       

Why Is America at a Crossroad?

             The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday is the United States Constitution, the framework upon which the United States of America was created. The American way of life was built upon the idea that ordinary men and women can govern themselves. The Founding Fathers based their new government on We-the People, and Abraham Lincoln stated that the United States is a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

            The United States has faced many difficulties since it won independence from Great Britain and formed the government for the new nation. Only the Civil War and the current condition of the nation threatened to destroy the nation, and both divisions came from problems within the country rather than foreign enemies.

            Many people think that America now stands at a crossroad, and Americans have the choice between greatness or destruction. Lee Cary called it a “choice between the road leading to awaking v. demise,” and he claimed that the ultimate decision “is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.” 

It alone is the last hope for justice in a Presidential election that was thoroughly corrupted by a political party whose hatred for President Trump, based solely on what he’s been trying to do, has led to extremes only short of assassination….

The U.S. Presidential Elections of 1824 and 1876, post-12^th Amendment, were dicey, but 2020 eclipses both and is the new standard for election corruption.

If left to stand, the Biden-Harris administration will usher in a dark age to the land of the once free and brave….

If the division within the nation matched the geographical alignment of the 1861-1865 American Civil War, the shooting would have already started. But because it doesn’t, this is, to date, an unarmed division.

            The Trump administration has faced near-constant attacks by Democrats, Leftists, Never Trumpers, and others who could not let Trump succeed in Making American Great Again. They were members of the Swamp and/or the Deep State who had become wealthy on the backs of American taxpayers, and they knew that Trump had the power to expose their corruption.

            The constant attacks led to hostility among Americans with many friendships and some families being destroyed. The hostility was exasperated by the pandemic that we know originated in China, but we have not yet identified the motive. The hostility broke into riots last summer where stores were looted and burned under attacks of Black Lives Matter, otherwise known as BLM. Those initials could just as well stand for burning, looting, and murder because those are the activities of the group.

            Democratic mayors allowed BLM to destroy their cities under the disguise of claims for equal treatment under the law. They have even bowed to the demands of the arsonists, thieves, and murderers by defunding or moving funds away from their police departments. Small businesses, poor citizens, and national unity are the biggest losers.

            Through all the hardships that came to America by way of coronavirus quarantines and intentional destruction in Democrat-led cities, the Democrat Party, along with their allies in the liberal media, stoked the flames of hatred for Donald Trump. Then the party that never lets a crisis go to waste, enacted their plan to steal the presidential election. This is what Cary considered to be what brought America to the current “critical intersection.”

            Under the guidance – or lack thereof -- of a Biden-Harris administration, America takes the road to “Demise, with a sudden slide into increased federal government intrusion into the lives and freedoms of American citizens … [and make America] increasingly vulnerable to its international enemies.” The same people who cried “Russia, Russia, Russia” for four years are now claiming that “there was no international interference in the 2020 election.” The same people who resisted every single thing that Trump did to make America better and stronger are now calling for Americans to become united.

            The other road leads to a stronger America and freedom. The same thing that Cary calls “America’s 21^st Century Awakening.” Cary made a great point about the previously mentioned “Swamp.” Most Americans were aware that most politicians could not be trusted. We knew that they were lying if their lips were moving. However, Trump gave a name to the entrenched politicians who were robbing Americans while “serving” their country. Trump called them the “Swamp” and threatened to “drain the swamp.” Well, the swamp creatures rose in resistance and caused great division in the nation. Along with “the Swamp,” the “Deep State” is also recognized as a reality by millions of Americans.

The “Deep State,” once a term discredited by those employed in it, is now acknowledged by roughly half the nation as accurately descriptive.

Both the Swamp and the Deep State are now recognized realities to tens of millions.

One is a metaphor for the quagmire of corruption where those who leach a living off of federal taxes swim in the darkness of government bureaucracies and institutions too deep for many elected officials, and all average citizens, to know and influence.

Awareness has come in the last four years, thanks to Donald Trump. He was unafraid to out America’s internal enemies. After Dwight David Eisenhower, all the U.S. President’s before Trump were complicit by their silence. Ike warned the nation of the “military industrial complex” on his way out of the White House. He knew the danger of the Deep State.

            Americans should be grateful for Trump’s awakening us to the reality of the Swamp and the Deep State. Most of us knew that something was wrong in Washington, D.C., but we did not know what it was. Trump put names on the creatures and opened our eyes to their destructive practices. In Cary’s words, Trump let the “genie of awareness” out of its bottle for all to see.

            The Swamp and the Deep State have fought Trump every single day of his administration trying to discredit him. First, there was the Russian hoax that cost the nation more than two years of time and millions of dollars. When the Russian hoax did not get rid of Trump, the Ukraine phone call about Hunter Biden corruption took on a life of its own. That led to impeachment in the House of Representatives but not conviction in the Senate.

            The next tactic of the creatures was election corruption. We do not yet know how far up the ladder the corruption goes. I have seen reports that Chief Justice John Roberts is involved. Barack Obama also seems to be involved to some degree. Will Trump be able to pull the curtain aside and expose all the creatures lurking behind it? Only time will tell – and time is running out. One month from today, the new President will be inaugurated. I expect to see many fireworks in the forthcoming days. Hopefully, they will lighten our way to the road to freedom!