| Subject: The Strength of Empathy |
Author:
Mohd Som
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Date Posted: 08:37:40 09/25/02 Wed
Author Host/IP: jrc-cache5.jaring.my/161.142.112.5
Dear classmates,
There seems to be a regrettable lack of a sense of caring and concern among our classmates. Looks like SSSS of those years did not succeed in producing the kind of citizens that care and are concerned for things surrounding them.
I thought after all these years (we are all nearing 60 now) we should now have some time enough to look at things in our society and pay back something to the very society that produced all of us. Certainly we will not "jaga cucu" all the time.
Here is an article from a member of younger generation on the subject of EMPATHY.
The Strength of Empathy
What drives people into tears when they hear the misfortunes of others far away? What drives people to sacrifice for others? A person fasts on a particular day just to experience how a poor person suffers, and saves all the money he could spend on food that day, to be given to charity? Is it worthwhile to do so?
This feeling is empathy. The power of identifying oneself mentally with a person or object of contemplation. This was the same feeling that drove an old school teacher by the name of Umar Mukhtar, to take up arms and fight the Italian invasion army, to defend his people of occupied Libya in the early 1900s. This was the same feeling which drove local people of Nicaraguan villages to bravely face the impending aggression of the state-sponsored terrorists who killed women and children indiscriminately in the beginning of the 1980’s. This was the same feeling which drove people to endure hardship patiently because they felt that their sufferings was no match for the sufferings of many people who are massacred, tortured, humiliated, and neglected in all the four corners of the globe. Such a powerful feeling. But does it bring any benefits?
Consumption
Hitherto, high consumption expenditure is one of many problems facing households. People tend to consume more than what they really need. People continue to purchase and consume as long as it satisfies their desire at that moment in time. But eventually, they will soon realize that most of the things they consume are only temporarily desirable and will become obsolete in the eyes of the purchaser. Hence, the term “white elephant”. We need not look far, our house is a good start. How many obsolete items can you find?
This can also be applied to food consumption. People tend to buy and consume food excessively. A good example would be in the month of Ramadhan. Before breaking fast, people would swarm the pasar juadah buying all sorts of food. However, when the time comes to break, people are only capable to eat some of the food they purchase. The result would be sleepiness and a bloated stomach. Eating buffet meals is another example.
Empathy acts as a mitigating tool for the problem. When we feel that some people far away cannot even afford a meal, we tend to humble ourselves, thanking God for giving us what others don’t have and eat accordingly, with the picture of starving people at the back of our heads. I recall my father saying,” An insatiable consumer is the best friend of the seller”. I guess that makes empathy a bad news for the seller!
Ethical Change
Empathy acts as a basis for ethical change. It changes a person from an insatiable consumer into a rational consumer. It actually makes a person stop at the roadside to give some money to poor people. In society today, people tend to elevate themselves and discriminate others by ranking, wealth, and status. Some people look at others as inferior. This is a situation without empathy.
But among these people are those who can feel the discrimination suffered by the poor and the lower class. These are people who humble themselves even though they happen to be much richer as compared to others, treating them as equal counterparts, be it a road sweeper, a construction worker, or a beggar.
Knowledge
Empathy also provokes the inquisitive mind. The curiosity of how someone is able to achieve a certain task leads a person to learn about that someone. The curiosity of how a simple man can transform people into the most advanced civilization leads a person to study about this man, his mission and his struggles.
Hence, empathy also acts as a motivation for people to seek knowledge, to realize the significance of an individual’s sayings, to study the dynamics of how these sayings permeate in society, and to analyze the psychological impact these sayings have on society.
The Way Forward
These are some of numerous examples on the benefits of empathy. A question one might ask is, how to provoke empathy? This is a difficult question to answer, although suggestions can be put forward. I think many people have empathy, albeit in various degrees. Some have empathy but they don’t act on it. They might feel for unfortunate people but cannot afford to sacrifice their leisure. Some have empathy and act upon it. This is the best of people.
As we can see, the thing that superficially differentiates between the two types of people is sacrifice. It might be difficult to make sacrifices, but through determination, one would gradually realize the beauty of making such sacrifices, and the impact those sacrifices would have on himself as well as on society. Along the way, empathy might develop.
This may sound too simplistic. It may be simple if you look at things differently. What if it was you who was inflicted with poverty? Would people then care? How would you feel if you’re neglected? What if it was your child who has been killed at the hands of oppressors? Would people then care? How would you feel when your sorrow is not felt by others?
The life in this world is such a contingency that you might never know what will happen next, even if you try. Poverty experienced by others might fall on you after some time. Civil unrest suffered by many others at present might hit you after some time. We wouldn’t know. If we neglect them now, what would be the chances of they neglecting us in our time of need? Would you then feel for others?
This article is simply a reflection of you and me. All of us. The best of us are those who take heed of the message. Anything incorrect comes from the weakness of myself, and anything right comes from the grace of God.
Written by: Fazil Irwan bin Mohd Som
11, Jalan AU5C/5,
Lembah Keramat, Hulu Klang,
54200, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-41085064
Email: cavaliere79@hotmail.com
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