I am seriously considering the possibility that someone put some strong hallucinogens in the coffee at the New York Times. How else can we explain the column David Brooks produced this morning? It’s as if he was pondering why conservatives attack the concept of empathy and he started daydreaming. Gee, maybe empathy really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. I mean sometimes juries award lesser sentences on convicts who look sad. And, doesn’t empathy lead directly to nepotism? Of course it does! You know what really makes you a better person? It’s not empathy, it’s finding a dime in a phone booth. Did you know that some Nazis were a little verklempt about mowing Jews down with machine guns? How did that empathy work out?
I mean, sweet Jesus, someone give the man a Benzo.
you read him so we don’t have to
I’m no fan of the Bobo, but the column makes a perfectly valid point. There is a danger in feeling self-satisfied for being “empathic” in our feelings without ever feeling that sense of moral duty to take action to reduce suffering. They are different phenomena. Now, whether we needed a NYT column to point out this mundane distinction without moving the ball forward in any way whatsoever is another question entirely, but I can’t find fault with the basic truth of the column: without a sense of moral duty – a “code” if you will – empathy alone will do little to effect social change.
Because being a loyal soldier in the War on Empathy is a great way to instill a desire for social justice. Yeah, you’re right, he has a great point.
Because sarcasm is so useful to mutual understanding . . . .
And to think I always loved this blog.
I have a better nominee for Wanker of the Day. You disappoint me.
danger of feeling self-satisfied because of feeling empathy? this is based on what evidence? (in what universe?)
Are you attempting to respond to what I wrote? Maybe you should go back and reread it to be sure.
The guy is a wreck. Why does he have a voice on the NYT, NPR, PBS and countless other outlets?
If it is “empathy” that makes his skull implode, I take joy in the knowledge that it is a Dem that arguably kicked off the “empathy craze”.
http://www.northwestern.edu/observer/issues/2006/06/22/obama.html
And of course there was the “empathy deficit” speech during the 2008 campaign.
Empathy leads to nepotism? I actually had to click the link to see if he really said that. Sure enough, there it is: “It leads to nepotism.”
How sociopathic do you need to be when you consider concentrating wealth, power and privilege in the hands of your own family to be evidence of empathy?
Right?