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Culture of Empathy Builder:  Ian Reifowitz

http://j.mp/152Cwys

Ian Reifowitz and Edwin Rutsch: Dialogs on How to Build a Culture of Empathy

Ian Reifowitz teaches history at Empire State College of the State University of New York. He is the author of, Obama's America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity


In his article, Obama Calls for Empathy in Israel, Ian writes, "President Obama gave an absolutely terrific speech yesterday in Israel. The key section of the speech occurred when the president declared that Israelis need to truly understand how Palestinians see the conflict differently than they do. Obama urged them to "put yourself in their shoes.

 Look at the world through their eyes...  In this piece, I want to point out that this concept of putting oneself in the shoes of one's opponent or even just someone different from oneself, i.e., empathy, is at the heart of Obama's entire worldview...

He has drawn on the idea of empathy repeatedly as part of his push to encourage and invigorate ties across lines of race, culture, religion, region, etc. in this country. As I've written in my book Obama's America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity, empathy is thus central to his call to strengthen our sense of being one American people.
In The Audacity of Hope Obama spoke of empathy as being "at the heart of my moral code" and defined it as "a call to stand in somebody else's shoes and see through their eyes."
Sub Conference: Science


 
 

 

 

Ian Reifowitz and Edwin Rutsch: How to Build a Culture of Empathy With Barack Obama

 

 

Transcripts

(Video Transcriptions: If you would like to take empathic action and create a transcription of this video, check the volunteers page.  The transcriptions will make it easier for other viewers to quickly see the content of this video.)

 

 

2013-03-22 - Obama Calls for Empathy in Israel: Now Netanyahu and Abbas Must

"President Obama gave an absolutely terrific speech yesterday in Israel. The key section of the speech occurred when the president declared that Israelis need to truly understand how Palestinians see the conflict differently than they do. Obama urged them to "put yourself in their shoes. Look at the world through their eyes...  In this piece, I want to point out that this concept of putting oneself in the shoes of one's opponent or even just someone different from oneself, i.e., empathy, is at the heart of Obama's entire worldview...

He has drawn on the idea of empathy repeatedly as part of his push to encourage and invigorate ties across lines of race, culture, religion, region, etc. in this country. As I've written in my book Obama's America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity, empathy is thus central to his call to strengthen our sense of being one American people.
In The Audacity of Hope Obama spoke of empathy as being "at the heart of my moral code" and defined it as "a call to stand in somebody else's shoes and see through their eyes."

 

 

Obama's America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity,

 "Obama’s America analyzes Barack Obama's call to transform our national identity. His definition of America emphasizes unity while being fully inclusive of all Americans. A country’s national identity is a living organism, and Obama hopes to redefine ours in a subtle yet fundamental way. "

 

"Not only has he equated being American with empathy-specifically empathy across ethnic boundaries- he has defined this empathy as a traditional American value that dates back to 1776."