Empathy is Overrated.

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Abstract

s a direct contradiction to my personal values. I firmly believe that everyone is human and tries to do the best they can. Empathy is how the world moves forward. That is how we learn to understand each other. Without empathy, the world is a very dark place.Soon after, I extracted myself from that conversation. I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. It didn’t seem worth it to fight that fight anymore. I used to be hell-bent on getting him to change his views. I am not, anymore.For a discussion to take place, all parties have to agree on some baseline ideas. A discussion is built on common ideas. If there are no common ideas there can be no discussion.I refuse to have a discussion in which we can’t agree that all people are people.

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To me, that is what his statement meant. He refuses to try to understand the world through other people’s eyes. This limits his view of the world to his own view. He only looks for things that confirm his view.I want to understand why the things I know are wrong. That is my mission in life. To understand how everyone else views the world. That is the only way we get to see the complete picture. I want to see the complete picture.I am not going to waste time debating that idea. That is the core of my beliefs. I am going to go out and live those beliefs now. I will never convince him of anything. Maybe though, I can help him see that there might be a better way to view the world. Or maybe not. The choice is his. The future is mine.</article></body>

Family Political Discussions Suck

“Empathy is overrated.”

That is what my dad told me a couple weeks ago. We were in the middle of a political discussion and I was talking about the importance of understanding all sides. That is when he dropped that line.

Empathy is overrated.

I keep rolling that over in my head. That is a direct contradiction to my personal values. I firmly believe that everyone is human and tries to do the best they can. Empathy is how the world moves forward. That is how we learn to understand each other. Without empathy, the world is a very dark place.

Soon after, I extracted myself from that conversation. I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. It didn’t seem worth it to fight that fight anymore. I used to be hell-bent on getting him to change his views. I am not, anymore.

For a discussion to take place, all parties have to agree on some baseline ideas. A discussion is built on common ideas. If there are no common ideas there can be no discussion.

I refuse to have a discussion in which we can’t agree that all people are people. To me, that is what his statement meant. He refuses to try to understand the world through other people’s eyes. This limits his view of the world to his own view. He only looks for things that confirm his view.

I want to understand why the things I know are wrong. That is my mission in life. To understand how everyone else views the world. That is the only way we get to see the complete picture. I want to see the complete picture.

I am not going to waste time debating that idea. That is the core of my beliefs. I am going to go out and live those beliefs now. I will never convince him of anything. Maybe though, I can help him see that there might be a better way to view the world. Or maybe not. The choice is his. The future is mine.