OpEdNews - Page 2 of Article: Empathy

Barack Obama told this story, "In an old school house room over 20 of us who had never met each other came together and shared our stories of why we had come. Black and white, old and young, men and women - this was an odd couple and an incredibly diverse crowd but it turned out we had so much more in common than any of us realized." It has been said regarding members of different races, religions, ethnic backgrounds and even sexual propensities that we have a lot more in common than there is difference. If only our quotas for Empathy could be adjusted to take in those statements.

Right now, America has it's first non-white president. If Colin Powell were to challenge Barack Obama and win in 2012, his presidency will be less newsworthy than Mr. Obama's. If President Obama has two terms in the White House and then Eric Holder, Obama's Attorney General, were to run and be elected, likewise his run and election would not generate as much controversy. If Sonia Sotomayor is confirmed and takes a seat on the Supreme Court, there will be less fuss the next time an Hispanic person is nominated. When JFK ran for the presidency in 1960, there was so much controversy because he was a Roman Catholic, but when Roman Catholic John Kerry ran 44 years later, hardly anyone noticed. Last year there were many Roman Catholics in the Presidential primaries including Rudy Giuliani, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Vilsack, Allen Keyes, Sam Brownback, and Tommy Thompson. Although most of the Presidential primary candidates were Roman Catholic, it caused no fuss. How many non-white presidents will we have to have before a Black presidential candidate will not have to be known as "the Black candidate"? How many female presidents will we have to have before a female presidential candidate will not be known as "the female candidate"? How many Hispanic presidents will we have to have before an Hispanic presidential candidate will not be known as "the Hispanic candidate"? I ask because no one referred to either Rudy Giuliani, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Tom Vilsack, Allen Keyes, Sam Brownback, or Tommy Thompson as Roman Catholic candidates. Not anymore, at least.

All things being equal, there should be about 51 women in the Senate with 49 men. Today there are 17 women in the Senate.

All things being equal, there should be about 222 women in the House of Representatives with 213 men. Today there are 75 women in the House.

All things being equal, there should be about 58 Blacks, 67 Hispanics and 18 Asians in the House. Today there are 42 Blacks, 25 Hispanics and 5 Asians in the House.

All things being equal, there should be about 13 Blacks, 15 Hispanics and 4 Asians in the Senate. Today there is one Black, 2 Hispanics and 2 Asians in the Senate.

All things being equal, there should be about 16 Gay people in the Senate and House combined. There is only one admitted Gay man in Congress.

All things being equal, there should be about 5 women, and 4 men on the Supreme Court. There is only one women at least until next term sitting on the Supreme Court.

All things being equal, there should be about 1 or 2 Blacks, 1 or 2 Hispanics and either a Gay person or an Asian on the Supreme Court. There is one Black!

The problem is that all things are not equal, and there is very little debate about that. The debate is why things are not equal. Some say that all things are not equal because women and/or Blacks and/or Hispanics and/or Gays and/or Muslims and/or people of Chinese, Japanese, Indian or Pakistani descent are not equal to white straight males when it comes to getting things done well in business or politics because they are inferior. The people who feel that way think that white straight males deserve the important decision making positions and that allowing a token representation from other than white straight males is ok, but allowing a proportion more representative of America's actual makeup is dangerous. Other people, those who see things differently think that the reason that all things are not equal is a combination of bad Empathy, the difficulty of coming from disadvantaged conditions, and the corporation controlled media's and the public's desire to maintain the status quo.

I remember when the Harlem Globetrotters were organized because (it was claimed that) Black basketball players were not good enough to compete with white players. I guess someone forgot to tell that to Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain and a host of others much too numerous to mention.

Will Barack Obama be the Michael Jordan of Presidents? Should he have to be in order to prove that Black people are not inferior? I still get e-mail telling me that Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslin plant, that he is an Arab, that he is a Marxist, a socialist, that he is a token who relied on affirmative action and that he is not the President because he is not an American.

Will Barack Obama have to become one of the greatest American presidents in history before he garners Empathy for ordinary Black people? If President Obama becomes a great president will kidnapped Black children and raped Black women get the Empathy of the American Public? Of the American media? Will we see Black victims in national news stories?

Will Michelle Obama do more to garner Empathy for ordinary Black people than her husband? If President Obama is a two term president, will his daughters have to remain Cosbyesque in order to garner Empathy for ordinary Black people? Will they be allowed to make mistakes like the Bush twins made? Will we hear, "I knew Black children couldn't be any good?" if they make a childish mistake, hopefully though not as bad as Bristol Palin made?

Good Empathy! Bad Empathy!

It might be the biggest difference in America today: The Empathy that some people get compared to the Empathy that is used against others. Let's not prejudge people. Let's not require that people look like ourselves, worship like ourselves, make love like ourselves, have as much or as little money in the bank as ourselves, have as much or as little formal education as ourselves, or speak like ourselves in order to realize that they are just like us. They only want a chance to be themselves, and to survive and maybe even thrive. All people whether white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, straight, Gay, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, male, female, old or young are created and must be treated equal. I will accept "All Men are created Equal" as the Declaration of independence states only if those two sentences mean the same thing. Should you do any less?

1 | 2 | 3

Empathy - Part 2