All You Need is Empathy

“Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and, therefore, the foundation of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” 
― J.K. Rowling

   Burt Bacharach said that love what the world needs now. The Beatles said love was all you need. Patty Smyth said that sometimes love just ain't enough. You know what? Patty's right. Religions, civic organizations, poets, Oprah, pop music, hippies, cults, philosophers, prophets, artists, and your mom, have all been telling us since the dawn of time to love each other. It's not working. The world is still a hate-filled shit hole on a bad day and utterly indifferent on a good day. It ain't from lack of love. We love OUR families. We love OUR friends. We love OUR churches. We love OUR kind of music. We love OUR candidates. We love OUR country. We even love OUR hatred. You disagree? If people didn't get something out of hating others, then why would they continue to hate? These days, it's a lot easier to get a group of people together based on what they hate or what they're against or what they fear. Love is a real and necessary emotion, but I think what we need more these days is empathy. It's not lack of love making life suck, it's lack of empathy.
   Empathy: simply the act of seeing the world through someone else's eyes and trying understand how they feel. Look at those grown-ass people in Murietta, California holding signs and screaming at children. Now, just for a sec, put your political feelings about immigration aside. These were ADULTS...SCREAMING INSULTS...AT CHILDREN. If they had just made a conscious effort to look through the eyes of those kids, or to remember what it was like to be a kid and how intimidating and scary adults can be, maybe they would have reconsidered. Maybe not. The point is, you're less likely to hate someone(especially a child) if you put yourself in their shoes. You might never agree with them, but you might not be sent into rabid hatred at the mere sight of them.
   One thing that I have learned in my 44 years of life on this planet: Intelligent and creative people, tend to have more empathy than ignorant people. Dumb people hate more and are afraid of more than smart people. I think the comment threads on a lot of Facebook posts prove that point. Readers, in particular, seem to have more empathy for others. Here's why: Reading forces you to empathize. You are literally putting the thoughts and feelings of another person in your brain. Why do you think so many books have been banned throughout history. Those who oppose and fear change or hate those who are different or whose livelihoods depend on you staying uneducated and not thinking for yourself, have never stopped trying to keep the "wrong" books out of the hands of the "wrong" people. Ray Bradbury said, "“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” 
   You want to make the world a better place? Start by reading books. And not just books that reaffirm what you already know or that bolster opinions you already have. Read books that will challenge you and your beliefs. Books are magic. You can see through the eyes of the dead. You can visit every country on the planet. You can travel to places that don't exist. When you start reading a lot, a funny thing happens. You start looking at different people differently. Empathy will start to creep into your worldview. You start to look at things from different angles instead of just having the same knee-jerk reaction that you've always had.
   And THAT is what scares those in power more than anything. They want you to take their word for everything, whether it's a preacher, a politician, or anyone whose way of life depends on us never challenging what they want us to believe.  Take my favorite dip-shit of the week, Brandon Smith-R, state legislator from Kentucky. When he says that it's a proven fact that Mars and Earth share the same temperature in an attempt to prove his belief that burning coal doesn't contribute to climate change, he's counting on us to be stupid. It shows the contempt that he has for his constituents. He doesn't want people to take fifteen seconds to Google the temperature of Mars. While you're Googling that, you might also discover that Brandon owns coal mines. Shocking! People will say they want a book banned for all kinds of reasons. Profanity! Sex! Violence! Blasphemy! We need to protect the children! Don't be fooled. The main reason books are banned is because someone is afraid of the IDEAS contained in the book. "If my child reads THAT book they might not hate the gays like I do!" 
   Books create and foster empathy. There can be no real love without real empathy. You want to stick your nose into other people's lives? Stick your nose in a book.