tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post4418278256234780186..comments2024-03-22T10:49:51.766-05:00Comments on Horizons: The Antidote for Projection: EmpathyNancy LeTourneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-42756780855572637922021-09-15T10:57:00.655-05:002021-09-15T10:57:00.655-05:00Totally. Of course, the same journalists no callin...Totally. Of course, the same journalists no calling the massive victory for Newsome in the California recall election a foregone conclusion had article after article in past weeks about how dire his situation is. (Presumably that sells a whole lot better.) And today Kevin Drum says not to draw any sweeping conclusions. <br /><br />But if I may venture to offer one, it's that today's GOP will stop at nothing. OK, they lost, big, but they will stop at nothing again, and the press will abet them. JohnHhttps://www.haberarts.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-13343938229152264292021-09-14T18:32:36.198-05:002021-09-14T18:32:36.198-05:00As so happens, you're right on the money. All ...As so happens, you're right on the money. All functioning societies depend upon people caring about the other person's good at least a little, and I too am at a loss as to what went wrong in America. My best guess (subject to retraction at a moment's notice) is that we've gotten too comfortable: so many of us are so used to being free from hunger, disease, and the elements that a person can forget that suffering is a real thing. It's a buzz-kill to think about, though, so people have gotten really good at blaming the victim: if I'm doing well it's because I've earned it, and your suffering is not my problem or anyone else's but your own.<br /><br />I don't think there was ever a golden age when people looked out for each other as a rule, but I do suspect there was a time when being a raving sociopath wasn't seen as normal or admirable.King Beauregardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04043228078537079759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-75055384566431655022021-09-14T18:19:53.565-05:002021-09-14T18:19:53.565-05:00My apologies. I surely just had too much of Kevin ...My apologies. I surely just had too much of Kevin Drum's latest outreach to reasonableness on my mind. <br /><br />Still, I'll stick to the point that we need good old-fashioned virtues like justice, equity, and mercy, and how you get there is up to you. If you're a Kantian seeing the golden rule as a universal, an existentialist seeing recognition of the other as constitutive of yourself, a Marxist seeing a class struggle, a pragmatist just trying to hold onto a tiny remnant of what we know for sure, whatever. All great. Let's just focus on skewering the immorality that has gained respect in the mainstream media and has damaged our country beyond belief. JohnHhttps://www.haberarts.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-32101087043691997592021-09-14T16:07:18.183-05:002021-09-14T16:07:18.183-05:00Just to be clear, I never mentioned "winning ...Just to be clear, I never mentioned "winning over Republicans" and certainly not to "loving kindness." To equate that to what I wrote is a complete misunderstanding of empathy. It is merely the capacity to see the world through someone else's eyes. So I would remind you of what the warrior tactician Sun Tzu said, "If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-66765963252013676992021-09-14T15:35:42.211-05:002021-09-14T15:35:42.211-05:00Nancy keeps returning to empathy many many a time ...Nancy keeps returning to empathy many many a time as her prescription for curing our politics of lies and divisions. While I empathize, I still say the only rule is that we should do right, by ourselves and others. After that, it's fine for philosophers to debate what best underlies ethics, but that's all theory, and we could use some practice. The fact is that we're not going to win over Republicans to loving kindness. In fact, we're not going to win them over to ordinary demands for justice and mercy, so let's not complicate the picture unduly. JohnHhttps://www.haberarts.comnoreply@blogger.com