Peder Zane is journalist who has worked at The
News & Observer of Raleigh and The New York Times. He teaches Mass Communication and Journalism at St. Augustine’s College
in Raleigh. .. "If
we want to move our politics and culture in a positive direction, we
should stop calling for civility and start practicing the lost art of
empathy....Practicing empathy does not mean that we will
adopt their point of view...empathy enables us to
recognize their humanity.
"
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Article:
The lost art of empathy ...If we want to move our politics and culture in a
positive direction, we should stop calling for civility and start
practicing the lost art of empathy....Practicing
empathy does not mean that we will adopt their point of view. In fact,
it may lead us to disagree with them even more strongly, especially if
the other person is a virulent racist or a suicide bomber bent on
targeting civilians. But, even in such extreme cases, empathy enables us
to recognize their humanity. Just like us, a mixture of experience and
education, desire and need, has led them to adopt views that make sense
for them (even if we conclude that those views are dead wrong or even
immoral).
