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All Video Clips of Barack Obama Talking About the Importance of Empathy
http://j.mp/ObamaOnEmpathy
 

  Barack Obama and a New Spirit of Empathy - Rough Cut 2 (1hr 49 min)
A Chronological Video of Barack on Empathy. Compiled from about 40 of his speeches and interviews, etc. on the topic of empathy. For links to the individual clips see below.
               
 
     
     
     
     
   
Individual Video Clips and Sources
Here are video clips and resources of Barack and Micelle Obama talking about empathy.  The first row of images link to edited video clips of Obama talking about empathy, the second row has short excerpts of the text. The other columns have the source of the video and text, as well as, transcripts of the entire speeches and interviews, etc..
(areas in red are material that's still needed)

 
   Year-Month-Day - Speech Title  
 
Video Clip
(On Youtube)

Comments on Empathy

Source Video

Reference Material, Notes,
and Comments

 
  1995-07-18 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: In Book - Dreams of My Father  

Nor do I pretend to understand the stark nihilism that drove the terrorists that day and that drives their brethren still. My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another's heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those who would murder innocents with abstract, serene satisfaction.
------
And it is that truth, a truth that they surely sense but can't admit and, in fact, must refuse if they are to wake up tomorrow, that has forced them, or others like them, eventually to shut off access to any empathy they may once have felt.
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
Notes: This listing
1995-07-18  and 2001-09-19  have been edited into one video clip on Obama's reactions to the terrorist attacks.
  2001-09-19 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: 9-11 Terrorists Attack Caused by Lack of Empathy Hyde Park Harold Article  
 

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity.

  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: 
 
  2002-01-21 - Martin Luther King Day - Chicago IL - Rockefeller Memorial Chapel  
 

You know, the principle of empathy gives broader meaning, by the way, to Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence...

It seems like we got an empathy shortage, an empathy deficit. More serious than the federal budget deficit. We've become so cynical that it almost seems naive to believe that we can understand each other across the gulf of race, or class or region or religion...

An empathy shortage. That's what the principle of empathy does, its calls us all to task. The heartless conservative, the patronizing liberal, the powerful and the powerless. The oppressed and the oppressor. No one is exempt from finding common ground, because when no one is exempt it forces all of us to examine our own actions, our own belief systems. It shakes us out of our complacency and protects us from our own blindness our own self-righteousness. Our own fanaticism.
 

  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  Google - Youtube
 
     
     
  2004-07-27 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: DNC 2004 Keynote Address - Boston MA  

If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for their prescription drugs, and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandparent. If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It is that fundamental belief - I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper - that makes this country work. It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family. E pluribus unum. "Out of many, one."

video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ americanrhetoric
Notes: Empathy is not mentioned but he alludes to it.
  2004-11-01 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy with Oprah Magazine  

Barack: That's great. I often say we've got a budget deficit that's important, we've got a trade deficit that's critical, but what I worry about most is our empathy deficit. When I speak to students, I tell them that one of the most important things we can do is to look through somebody else's eyes. People like bin Laden are missing that sense of empathy. That's why they can think of the people in the World Trade Center as abstractions. They can just crash a plane into them and not even consider, "How would I feel if my child were in there?"

Oprah: We Americans also suffer from an empathy deficit, because we often feel that the woman in Bosnia or Afghanistan who loses her child is somehow different from us.

Barack: They become abstractions.....

Barack: Those slash-and-burn tactics have become the custom in Washington politics. But we will not play that game. People don't want to hear folks shouting at each other and trying to score political points. They want to solve problems. I'm determined to disagree with people without being disagreeable. That's part of the empathy. Empathy doesn't just extend to cute little kids. You have to have empathy when you're talking to some guy who doesn't like black people.

There's a level of viciousness in politics because power is at stake. Fortunately, most of my past mistakes are ones that people already know about. That's one of the nice things about writing a book.
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
Notes:  

 

     
  2004-11-23 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Charlie Rose Show  
 

Barack: When I see the empathy deficit that damages so much of our politics.

Charlie: What is the empathy deficit?

Barack: The inability of people to stand in other folks shoes. ..  It's hard to empathize with people who have different values than you.
video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section\
Video Source:
 @ youtube
Notes:
(need transcript)  
 
 
 
     
  2004-11-23 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Dreams Father Book Signing - NY NY  
 

  How do we expand a sense of empathy and allow each and every one of us to... 
.. Excuses for that, and that's where my empathy stops. I can't get into that mindset...
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ c-span, @ c-span
Notes:  need full text
 
     
  2005-04-12 - Visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center  
 

Throughout these visits, I was extraordinarily impressed with the deep care, attentiveness and professionalism of the staff at Walter Reed. They considered these young people to be part of their families and are able to maintain a powerful balance between empathy for those in their care and a cheerful insistence on the ability of these wounded soldiers to recover from their injuries.

  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
Notes:
Visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center  (need video)
 
     
  2005-06-22 - What it takes be full-grown man?  
 

One of the values that I think men in particular have to pass on is the value of empathy. Not sympathy, empathy. And what that means is standing in somebody else's shoes, being able to look through their eyes. You know, sometimes we get so caught up in "us" that it's hard to see that there are other people and that your behavior has an impact on them. And sometimes brothers in particular don't like to feel empathy, don't like to think in terms of "How does this affect other people?" because we think that's being soft. There's a culture in our society that says we can't show weakness and we can't, therefore, show kindness. That we can't be considerate because sometimes that makes us look weak.

  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: 
(need video)
Notes:  not sure where is this from? It could be confused with 
2008-06-15 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Fathers Day Apostolic Church Chicago, IL
 
     
  2005-09-11 - Barck Obama on George Bush and Katrina.  
 

Stephanopoulos asked: “How do you explain why President Bush didn't seem to get this early on?”
said Obama  “You know what, it's hard to explain. I mean, it's puzzling, given his immediate response during 9/11 that he did not feel a greater sense of empathy towards the folks that were experiencing this enormous disaster,” 
  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: (need video)
Notes:
 
     
  2005-09-22 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Confirmation of Judge John Roberts  
 

 That last mile can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy...

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ c-span (new)
Notes:
 
     
  2006-01-13 - Obama wraps up Middle East trip  
 

As you travel through the Middle East what keeps on striking home to me is how similar everyone is, and yet the degree to which we can find differences to fight wars over. It requires a great deal of empathy, I think, between various sides to overcome this history and live in peace.

  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: 
(need video)
Notes:
 
     
  2006-01-26  - Barack Obama on Confirmation of Samuel Alito - Senate Debate on Empathy  
 

And when I examine the philosophy, ideology, and record of Samuel Alito, I'm deeply troubled....  when you look at his record - when it comes to his understanding of the Constitution, I have found that in almost every case, he consistently sides on behalf of the powerful against the powerless; on behalf of a strong government or corporation against upholding American's individual rights.

 

Text Source - Local Copy
Video Source:  @ c-span (16:00 hr.)
Notes: no empathy comments, but Obama says Samuel Alito always sides with the powerful.
 
 
     
  200?-??-?? - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy from Books and Literacy  
  The biggest deficit that we have in our society and in the world right now is an empathy deficit. We are in great need of people being able to stand in somebody else's shoes and see the world through their eyes.  And the great power of books is the capacity to take you out of yourself and put you somewhere else. And to suddenly say, “Oh, this is what it’s like” – maybe not perfectly – but it gives you some glimpse of “This is what it is like to be a woman”, or “This is what it is like to be an African-American”. Or “This is what it is like to be impoverished in India”. Or “This is what it’s like to be in the midst of war”.

And so much of what binds us together in society and allows it to function effectively depends on it. And so much of what is wrong with how we interact, and so much of what is wrong with our politics has to do with the absence of that quality. And so it’s books more than anything else that are going to give our young people the ability to see other people. And that then gives them the capacity to act responsibly with respect to other people.
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:     @ youtube
Notes:
date ??? (need full transcript and where is this speech from?) Obama talks about the empathy deficit and how literacy and reading can help .July 27, 2007 
 
     
  2006-05-?? - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Building with Books Keynote  
 

For a group of young people that have served countless hours and helped hundreds and dozens of people,  what they are learning is the ability to see the world through somebody  else's eyes, and to stand in somebody else's shoes.  And that strikes me as the most important quality that we need in America right now and around the world right now If you think about so much of the conflict, the war, the cruelties that we have been witnessing,  so much of if it seems to have to do with the inability of people to   recognize themselves in somebody else. 

video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   
    @ youtube - part 1 
    @ youtube - part 2
Notes:  (need full transcript) Says Building with Books program  helps kids develop empathy. part 2
 
     
  2006-06-02 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: U Massachusetts Boston Commencement  
 

My third piece of advice is to cultivate a sense of empathy - to put yourself in other people's shoes - to see the world from their eyes. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:    @ c-span  .flv (new)    @ c-span  .rm (new)
Notes:
 
     
  2006-06-16 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Northwestern Commencement  
 

The world doesn't just revolve around you. There's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit.

video Text Source 1,  Source 2 - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:    @ youtube
Notes:  (Challenges Grads to Cultivate Empathy.) 
 
 
     
  2006-07-12 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Campus Progress Conference  
 

The last piece of advice is to cultivate a sense of empathy. There's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through those who are different from us - the child who's hungry, the laid-off steelworker, the immigrant woman cleaning your dorm room.
The fact that you're here and participating in Campus Progress means that most of you have already done this better than most ever will. But as you go on in life, cultivating this quality of empathy will become harder, not easier. There's no community service requirement in the real world; no one forcing you to care. You'll be free to live in neighborhoods with people who are exactly like yourself, and send your kids to the same schools, and narrow your concerns to what's going in your own little circle. Not only that - we live in a culture that discourages empathy. A culture that too often tells us our principle goal in life is to be rich, thin, young, famous, safe, and entertained. A culture where those in power too often encourage these selfish impulses.

video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:Notes:   @ youtube
   @ livevideo (problems with clip)
   @ c-span (new)
Notes:  Campus Progress Annual Conference
 
     
  2006-08-11 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Xavier University Commencement  
 

You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us - the child who's hungry, the steelworker who's been laid-off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:    @ xavier (new) (not good quality)
Notes:  
 
     
  2006-09-17 - Barack Obama on Empathy: Book Audacity of Hope  

Like most of my values, I learned about empathy from my mother. She disdained any kind of cruelty or thoughtlessness or abuse of power ....Whenever she saw even a hint of such behavior in me she would look me square in the eyes and ask, "How do you think that would make you feel?" ... I find myself returning again and again to my mother's simple principle -- "How would that make you feel?" -- as a guidepost for my politics. ... It's not a question we ask ourselves enough, I think; as a country, we seem to be suffering from an empathy deficit." Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:    @ fora.tv - author talk
Notes:  in Chapter 2 on Values
     
  2006-10-18 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Oprah Show  
 

clip8.flv Clip 8 video by kos102

My mother taught me empathy—the basic concept of standing in somebody else's shoes and looking through their eyes. If I did something messed up, she'd just say, 'How would that make you feel if somebody did that to you?' That ends up being, I think, at the center of my politics, and I think that should be the center of all our politics. If we see a child who's languishing in an inner-city school, how would we feel if that was our child?" clip8.flv Clip 8 video by kos102 Text Source - 2nd - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ photobucket
Notes:  
 
     
  2006-10-19 - Larry King Interview With Barack Obama  
 

 KING: Your first book, "Dreams From my Father," contained a lot of eloquence and emotion about your dad but there are some wonderful passages in "The Audacity of Hope" about your mom. I'm going to read an example. "Like most of my values, I learned about empathy from my mother. She disdained any kind of cruelty or thoughtlessness or abuse of power, whether it expressed itself in the form of racial prejudice or bullying in the schoolyard or workers being underpaid. Whenever she saw even a hint of such behavior in me, she would look me square in the eyes and ask, 'How do you think that would make you feel?'"

OBAMA:  She was somebody who although was nor formally religious had an extraordinarily powerful sense of what was right and what was wrong and how to treat other people. And, as I write in the book, you know, most of the values that I think still guide my politics are values that I got from her. And her spirit still I think motivates me in a lot of what I do.
  Text Source - 2nd - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
Notes:  
 
  2006-10-19 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Charlie Rose Hour  
 

There are a set of common values that we hold as Americans that need to be excavated, that we need to affirm. That Republicans, Democrats, independents can all buy into.. ... Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ google
Notes:  no comments about empathy in this interview
, but looking for shared values
 
     
  2006-10-19 - Larry King Live  
 

Larry King quotes from Audacity of Hope: "Like most of my values, I learned about empathy from my mother"   Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
(need video)
Notes:   Part One - on CNN but ends before empathy section. on Youtube Part Two?? Where is it??
 
     
  2006-12-04 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: K.I.D.S. Fashion Delivers Gala
Speaking at the December 4, 2006 gala for K.I.D.S./Fashion Delivers, Barack Obama describes how Americans must overcome the country's deficit in empathy to address the needs of populations at risk in our society.
 
 

If we hope to meet the moral test of our times, we’re going to have to talk more about the empathy deficit—the ability to see ourselves when we choose to empathize with the plight of others. It is time for a sense of empathy to infuse our politics in America.

It is time for a sense of empathy to infuse our politics in America. K.I.D.S. has spent over 20 years making this a reality. Now it is time for the rest of us to catch up.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @Youtube   
Notes:  need transcripts. a lot on empathy
 
 

  2007

     
  2007-03-04 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Selma Speech  
 

There is an empathy gap. There is a gap in terms of sympathizing for the folks in New Orleans. It's not a gap that the American people felt because we saw how they responded. But somehow our government didn't respond with that same sense of compassion, with that same sense of kindness. And here is the worst part, the tragedy in New Orleans happened well before the hurricane struck because many of those communities, there were so many young men in prison, so many kids dropping out, so little hope.

video Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ youtube (need full video)
   @ barackobama.com
   @ c-span (new) 
Notes:  (1&2?)
 
     
  2007-05-13 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: This Week George Stephanopoulos  
 

 I'm not an ideologue. Never have been. Even during my younger days when I was tempted by sort of more radical or left-wing politics, there was a part of me that always was a little bit conservative in that sense, that believes that you make progress by sitting down, listening to people, recognizing everybody's concerns,  seeing other people's points of views, and them making decisions...
 But keep in mind, I'm not interested in bringing people together just for the sake of bringing people together. I'm not naive enough to think that if we all hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" that somehow health care gets solved or, you know, education gets solved. Right now, what we need to make significant progress on these problems is to be able to build enough bridges to get things done.

Text Source - Local Copy  - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ youtube
Notes:

 
 
     
  2007-05-19 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: New Hampshire U Commencement  
 

The world doesn't just revolve around you. There's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit

video Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:@ youtube   @ barackobama.com
Notes:  
 
     
  2007-07-03 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Town Hall Meeting - Fairfield IA  
 

somehow we have lost the capacity to recognize our self in each other. People talk a lot about the federal deficit, but one of the things I always talk about is we have a empathy deficit in this country. That people seem to have lost a sense that we are all in it together.  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ c-span rm
Notes:  
need text, good talk
 
     
  2007-07-17 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Planned Parenthood on Judges  
 

We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges. video Text Source 1Text Source 2 - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:    
    @ youtube
    @ moneinamillion.com - full speech
Notes:  (final)  Barack Obama says he appoint  Supreme Court justices with "empathy."
 
     
  2007-07-09 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Greenville SC  

 What he's said time and time again is that this country is suffering from an empathy deficit, and if you don't have it in you to walk in another person's shoes, it's going to be difficult for us to move through these problems, that what we need, as a country, is to start caring for one another in a very deep and fundamental way," Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section\
Video Source:   @ NPR audio
Notes:  
     
  2007-08-08 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Walks in the Shoes of Oakland  

(Barack Obama Walks in the Shoes of Oakland Homecare Worker and SEIU member, Pauline Beck. Empathy in action and service. Was a program of union to have the candidates walk in the shoes of the workers.) Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ youtube
Notes:
     
  2007-08-19 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Presidential Debate - Des Moines IA  

 

 I believe in the power of prayer. And part of what I believe in is that, through prayer, not only can we strengthen ourselves in adversity, but that we can also find the empathy and the compassion and the will to deal with the problems that we do control. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: 
   @ c-span
  @taudiobook
  @ google
Notes:  
     
  2007-09-28 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Presidential Debate Dartmouth  

Part of what we've lost is a sense of empathy towards each other. We have been governed in fear and division, and you know, we talk about the federal deficit, but we don't talk enough about the empathy deficit, a sense that I stand in somebody else's shoes, I see through their eyes. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ c-span (new)
Notes:  
     
  2007-09-30 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - National Congress Black Women  

Barack always says that one of our greatest challenges as a nation is not a deficit of resources – for we are one of the riches countries in the world; and it's not deficit of policies, because we have some of the greatest minds working on these issues.  Instead, our greatest challenge is that we are living in a time when we are suffering from a deep empathy deficit. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: 
   @ clipsyndicate  
   @ policlicks.com
Notes:  
 
     
  2007-10-15 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Mack Apple Orchard - Londonderry NH  

Question: Who's your favorite past president?

Barack:   Lincoln, ...Stand in their shoes and have great empathy and great feeling for his fellow man.... 

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ c-span .flv - (empathy section) (new)
  @ c-span .rm -

 
@ youtube (new)
Notes:  
     
  2007-11-14 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Candidates at Google  
 

What I've learned about how Democrats lose, Democrats lose when they are not clear what they stand for. Democrats lose when they are attacked, and because they don't know where they stand, they end up getting defensive, instead of going on the offensive......
The problem of the 21st century is the problem of the other, people who are not like us... people talk about our federal budget deficit, we have a empathy deficit, we are not able to see world through other people eyes. And that's what I think I can provide.
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ youtube (new)
Notes:  
 
     
  2007-11-28 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Indianola IA  
 

... and open-mindedness and faith and empathy, and it's funny that we live in a...
 ... we are suffering from the deficit of empathy and that is where you get back to that...
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ c-span .flv  @ c-span .rm
Notes:  
 
 
     
  2007-12-20 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Fairfield IW  
 

Barack always says that our greatest challenge right now a nation is not that we have a deficit of resources, because we are one of the richest nations in the  world. that is true. and it's not that we have a deficit of policies and plans... the reality is we know what we need to do...We have the answers, what Barack says we are lacking is the will, we are suffering from a deficit of empathy. We don't care about each other. (clapping) Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ google .flv (new)
Notes:  
 
     
  2007-12-31 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Grinnell IA  
 

Because right now we are living in a country where we are still too divided. Still too divided, We've made some progress. But we live still in such isolation from one another. And we don't know how we live. We don't get to talk, we're not connected. As a result we don't know one another....Still guided by fear, I talk about fear a lot. We're grown to be a nation that's afraid of everyone and everything.....the problem with fear is that it clouds our judgment....fear cuts us off...
Barack says that our greatest challenge as a nation is not that we are suffering from a deficit of resources.  We are still one of the riches nations in the world.... Barack says that right now we are living in a time where we are suffering from tremendous deficit of empathy. we have lost the understanding that we have a mutual obligation for one another. We are one another's brothers and sisters keepers. To live in a democracy we have to compromise and sacrifice for one another.
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ c-span .flv  @ c-span .rm (new)
Notes:  
 
     
  December 31, 2007?  Obama at the Iowa Veterans Home, Marshalltown  

"We are suffering as a nation because we suffer a deficit of empathy Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
Notes:  Monday,
     

  2008
 

  2008-01-06 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Plymouth NH  
 

Barack says our greatest challenge is not that we are suffering from a deficit of resources.....Because what Barack says we are suffering from right now is a deficit of empathy.  We have a deficit of empathy. We live in a nation where we do have a mutual obligation to one another. Those aren't just words. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ c-span .flv   @ c-span .rm (new)
Notes:  
 
     
  2008-01-20 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: King Day at Ebenezer Baptist Church  
 

I'm talking about a moral deficit. I'm talking about an empathy deficit. I'm taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper; video Text & Vid Source - Text B Source 2 - Local Copy - Empathy Section
King Day at Ebenezer Baptist Church
Video Source: @ youtube  @ barackobama.com
Notes:  The Great Need of the Hour - Atlanta, GA
 
 
     
  2008-01-20 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: King Day at Ebenezer Baptist Church
Excerpt from Obama's speech on January 20, 2008 at Ebenezer Baptist Church. Accompanied by Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2 with painting and artwork  
 
     
  2008-01-21 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: King Day At The Dome  
 

I'm talking about an empathy deficit that exists. I'm talking about an inability to recognize ourselves in each other, to understand that we are our brother's keeper, that we are our sister's keeper, that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.  We have an empathy deficit when we're still sending our children down corridors of shame instead of corridors of opportunity, not just in South Carolina but all across the United States of America. video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ youtube
Notes:  
 
 
     
  2008-01-29 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Reclaiming the American Dream  Butler Community College El Dorado, KS  
 

This will not be easy. Because the change we seek will not just come from overcoming the ingrained and destructive habits of Washington, it will require overcoming our own fears and our own doubts. It will require each of us to do our part in closing the moral deficit - the empathy deficit - that exists in this nation. It will take standing in one another's shoes and remembering that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper. Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ barackobama.com  A
(full video is here)
Notes:   2008-01-29 Jan A B
 
(what is the difference between these 2 speeches?) El Dorado, KS ?
 
     
  2008-01-31 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Wilmington DE  

it's not the plan, this stuff is not rocket science, we know what we need to do..... What Barack says, is our greatest challenge is we've lost  the understanding that we have a mutual obligation to one another. It's a simple as that. It begins there......Out leaders have told us just take care of your own..... But what Barack understands in that we won't sacrifice for one another in the way we need to  if we not able to see ourselves in one another..... we have to be inspired to know what we have to do. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
Notes:  no direct use of the word empathy but the 'see ourselves in one another'.

 

     
  2008-03-02 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Westerville OH - Town Hall Meeting - Supreme Court  
 


 (version2)

the cases that we pay attention to, that we care about are the 5% of the cases, or the 1% of the cases. And what makes them hard cases, because there are conflicting values, it's not that they're right own wrong, but there may be two rights or two wrongs and you've got to try to resolve them. And there the question is, what's in the persons heart and their gut and not just what's in head. And what I want is people on the bench who have enough - empathy, enough feeling for what ordinary people are going through. That they're not just in a bunch of abstractions up there. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ youtube
Notes:  Obama is asked about appointments to  Supreme Court and other Appointees, need to transcribe. Says he will choose Supreme Court Judges with heart and empathy.
 
     
  2008-02-03 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - UCLA Rally CA  
 

We are suffering from a deficit of empathy. We have lost the understanding that in a democracy we have a mutual obligation... Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
   @ c-span
   @ barackobama.com
   @ youtube
Notes:  Michelle Obama UCLA Rally
 
 
     
  2008-03-13 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Villanova PA  
 

Suffering, he says, from a deficit of empathy. This is why I am here.. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ c-span .flv     @ c-span .rm 
Notes:  
 
     
  2008-04-02 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Carnegie Mellon - Pittsburgh PA  
 

What Barack understands is that we are suffering from a deficit of empathy. Now, see, that sounds simple, and some people think that all the answers are complex; they require some mathematical equation, some big, long ten-point plan. What Barack gets is that we have lost the understanding that we have a mutual stake in one another. That we have an obligation to sacrifice and compromise for one another.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube (new)
Notes:  

 

 
     
  2008-03-18 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Philadelphia - A More Perfect Union  
 

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign – to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America....

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ youtube
Notes: a more Perfect Union and  patriotism means more caring.
 
 
     
  2008-03-19 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Anderson Cooper - Patriotism  
  I think is the core of patriotism, which is, you know, are we caring for each other? Are we upholding the values of our founders? Are we willing to sacrifice on behalf of future generations?  


 
video Text? Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section 
Video Source: @ youtube
Notes:  
(need better clip of this interview, it has a squashed look) (copy 2) (need to find link to this) Patriotism starts with people caring about each other.
 
     
  2008-04-01 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Ann Currie Interview Today Show  

CURRY: Which president do you most want to be like?
OBAMA: Lincoln.
CURRY: Why?
OBAMA: He never lost sight of the humanity of even those who opposed them.
....
CURRY: Best thing your mom ever taught you?
OBAMA: Empathy. Making sure that you can see the world through somebody else's eyes, stand in their shoes. I think that's the basis for kindness and compassion.
video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ msn
Notes:  
     
   008-04-27 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - North Side High - Fort Wayne IN  

sacrifice and compromise for one another. Barack has been asking us this whole election, to look at ourselves differently. And inspiration and hope is all a huge part of that. You know the fact that we lost site of the fact that we are our brothers and sisters keeps in this nation. That we have to be prepared to sacrifice something big for the greater good.  And in order to do that, we have to feel some faith and trust and inspiration in our leadership. I don't think there is anyone else in this race that is going to be able to unify this country, whose going to be able to  change the way politics is done. Whose going to bring people together who never thought they had anything in common before. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:
Notes:
no direct mention of empathy but contains the bring people together  comment.
     
  2008-05-02 - Michelle Obama Promotes Empathy - Town Hall Meeting - Durham NC  

and this is where Barack gets it. He understands that our challenge is us. That we have lost a sense of empathy. We have had leadership that has told us that you can go it on your own. You don't have to worry about your neighbor.  Just make sure your little world is ok, you don't have to compromise and sacrifice for anybody, just take car of yourself. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ c-span (new)
Notes:  
     
  2008-05-25 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Wesleyan Commencement  

 But during my first two years of college, perhaps because the values my mother had taught me –hard work, honesty, empathy – had resurfaced after a long hibernation; or perhaps because of the example of wonderful teachers and lasting friends, I began to notice a world beyond myself.
 
video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ google
 
@ youtube - ver 2A  at 5:30  B,  C
Notes:  
 
     
  2008-05-31 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Church Resignation  

my faith is part of everything that I do. And I don't' think there is a clear separation between my faith and how I try to live my life. And I certainly think that part of my motivation in the work that I do is a belief in what I consider to be the core precept of Christianity, in addition of Christ dieing for your sins, is that treating your brothers and sitters as you'd have them treat you, a sense of empathy,   a belief in the golden rule, and that's what I try to apply to my work and what I do every day. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ c-span
Notes:  
 
     
  2008-06-15 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Fathers Day Apostolic Church Chicago, IL  

The second thing we need to do as fathers is pass along the value of empathy to our children. Not sympathy, but empathy – the ability to stand in somebody else's shoes; to look at the world through their eyes. Sometimes it's so easy to get caught up in “us,” that we forget about our obligations to one another. There's a culture in our society that says remembering these obligations is somehow soft – that we can't show weakness, and so therefore we can't show kindness.  But our young boys and girls see that. They see when you are ignoring or mistreating your wife. They see when you are inconsiderate at home; or when you are distant; or when you are thinking only of yourself. And so it's no surprise when we see that behavior in our schools or on our streets. That's why we pass on the values of empathy and kindness to our children by living them. We need to show our kids that you're not strong by putting other people down – you're strong by lifting them up. That's our responsibility as fathers. video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube  
@ c-span
Notes:  
     
  2008-07-10 - Remarks Joint Event with Senator Hillary Clinton - NY, NY  

But the Supreme Court also affects women's lives in so many other ways – from decisions on equal pay, to workplace discrimination, to Title IX, to domestic violence, to civil rights and workers' rights. And the question we face in this election is whether we'll have judges who demonstrate sound judgment and empathy, who understand how law operates in our daily lives, who are committed to upholding the values at the core of our Constitution – or judges who put ideology before justice, with our fundamental rights as the first casualty.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section 
Video Source:  
(need video)
Notes:  Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Joint Event with Senator Hillary Clinton
     
  2008-08-05 - A&E Biography Barack Obama  

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ google

Notes:
 
 
(check for empathy quotes, are none, it's more historical bio)
     
  2008-08-16 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Saddleback Civil Forum Presidency  

WARREN:  tell me in a minute why you want to be president.
OBAMA: You know, I remember what my mother used to tell me. I was talking to somebody a while back, and I said, the one time that she'd get really angry with me is if she ever thought that I was being mean to somebody or unfair to somebody. She said, imagine standing in their shoes, imagine looking through their eyes. That basic idea of empathy.
Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  
  @ youtube - empathy section
  @ youtube - full interview
  @ trevinwax.com
Notes:  
     
  2008-08-28 - Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC - The American Promise  

 our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.
"We cannot walk alone,"
video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ youtube
Notes:  No direct use of the word empathy but the sentiment is used.
     
  2008-08-28 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: 2008 DNC Tribute  

 The only time I ever saw my mother really angry is when she saw cruelty, when she saw somebody being bullied or somebody being treated differently because of who they were. And, if she saw me doing that, she would be furious.  And she would say to me: "Imagine standing in that person's shoes. How would that make you feel?" That simple idea, I'm not sure I always understood when I was a kid, but it stayed with me. ...

What I want is a family that is transmitting the values I inherited, the values that Michelle inherited to the next generation: hard work, honesty, self-reliance, respect for other people, a sense of empathy, kindness, faith.
video Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ youtube
Notes:  Biography Video
     
  2008-09-17 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Steve Kroft 60 min interview - Elko NV  

 That sense of putting yourself in somebody else's shoes, and seeing through their eyes. And what's shaped me most powerfully - maybe because I'm half black and half white -- that a big chunk of my childhood, I was sort of an outsider, didn't quite fit anywhere. Text part 1 - Text part 2 - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ cbsNews
Notes:  
     
  2008-10-20 - Pinay girl writes to Obama  

If you don't already know what it means, I want you to look up the word ‘empathy' in the dictionary. I believe we don't have enough empathy in our world today, and it is up to your generation to change that. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:

Notes:  Pinay girl writes to Obama, gets response
     
  2008-10-23 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Maya on Her and Baracks Mother  

 Maya says Barack learned empathy from their mother. Maya, "She was the most empathetic person I know  and she encouraged that in Barack, I think, and she is the one that gave him his ability to connect with so many people. " Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ youtube
Notes:  


  2009

  2009-02-05 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: National Prayer Breakfast - Washington DC  

the golden rule, the call to love one another, to understand one another, to treat with dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment on this Earth.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ youtube   @ c-span 
Notes:  
     
  2009-04-07 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Student Roundtable In Istanbul  

But it will depend on young people like you being open to new ideas and new possibilities. And it will require young people like you never to stereotype or assume the worst about other people.
In the Muslim world, this notion that somehow everything is the fault of the Israelis lacks balance -- because there's two sides to every question. That doesn't mean that sometimes one side has done something wrong and should not be condemned. But it does mean there's always two sides to an issue. I say the same thing to my Jewish friends, which is you have to see the perspective of the Palestinians. Learning to stand in somebody else's shoes to see through their eyes, that's how peace begins. And it's up to you to make that happen.
 
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Google
Notes: metaphor of empathy. "stand in somebody else's shoes to see through their eyes,"
     
  2009-04-23 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: US Holocaust Museum - Washington DC  

Today and every day, we have an opportunity as well as an obligation to confront these scourges, to fight the impulse to turn the channel when we see images that disturb us or wrap ourselves in the false comfort that others’ sufferings are not our own. Instead, we have the opportunity to make a habit of empathy, to recognize ourselves in each other, to commit ourselves to resisting injustice and intolerance and indifference, in whatever forms they may take, whether confronting those who tell lies about history, or doing everything we can to prevent and end atrocities like those that took place in Rwanda, those taking place in Darfur.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube    @ c-span
Notes:  
     
  2009-05-01 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Souter Retirement  

I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book.  It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives -- whether they can make a living and care for their families; whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation.

I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes.  I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. 

Text Source - Local - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube   @ c-span
Notes:  (final)
 
     
  2009-05-17 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: University Notre Dame Indiana Commencement  

I was not raised in a particularly religious household, but my mother instilled in me a sense of service and empathy that eventually led me to become a community organizer after I graduated college. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:   @ cnn     @ c-span
   @whitehouse.gov 16:9
Notes:  
     
  2009-05-22 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: C-SPAN Library Interview  

And you know, I said earlier, that I thought empathy was an important quality and I continue to believe that. You have to have not only the intellect to be able to effectively apply the law to cases before you.  But you have to be able to stand in somebody else's shoes and see through their eyes and get a sense of how the law might work or not work in practical day-to-day living.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube    @ c-span
Notes:  
     
  2009-05-26 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Introduces Sonia Sotomayor  

For as Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, the life of the law has not been logic, it has been experience; experience being tested by obstacles and barriers, by hardship and misfortune; experience insisting, persisting, and ultimately overcoming those barriers. It is experience that can give a person a common touch and a sense of compassion, an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube
Notes:  

 

     
  2009-06-19 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Television Correspondents Dinner  

 I’m proud of my nominee, Sonia Sotomayor.  And all those who oppose her, to all those who say that there’s no place for empathy on the bench, I say this: I completely understand how you’re feeling.  When you’re upset, I’m upset.

Text Source - Local Copy  - Empathy Section
Obama - Television Correspondents Dinner
Video Source: @ youtube
Notes:  
     
  2009-08-31 - Addiction Recovery Month   

Addiction Recovery Month 
During National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we also pay special tribute to the dedicated professionals and everyday citizens who, with skill and empathy, guide people through the treatment and recovery process. Across America, they are offering a message of hope and understanding.
Text Source - Local Copy  - Empathy Section
2009-08-31
Video Source:
Notes:  
     
  2009-09-09 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Health Care Speech to Congress  

That large-heartedness -- that concern and regard for the plight of others -- is not a partisan feeling. It's not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character -- our ability to stand in other people's shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ MSNBC video
Notes:  (Final)
     
  2009 09 18 Barack Obama on Empathy Warm Wishes for Rosh Hashanah  

At the dawn of this New Year, let us rededicate ourselves to that work. Let us reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others’ suffering, and instead make a habit of empathy – of recognizing ourselves in each other and extending our compassion to those in need.  Let us resist prejudice, intolerance, and indifference in whatever forms they may take -- let us stand up strongly to the scourge of anti-Semitism, which is still prevalent in far too many corners of our world.
 
President Obama: Warm Wishes for Rosh Hashanah Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube
(Final)
Notes:  
     
  2009-10-14 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Observes Diwali  

we remember those who are less fortunate, ....   and at this sacred time of year let us join together across denominations, religions and cultures to make a habit of empathy and reach out to those most in need. To share the blessings we enjoy and to advance the cause of peace in all corners of our world. President Obama's Diwali Message Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ youtube
Notes:  (Final) (last time Obama used the word empathy directly)
 
     
  2009-10-28 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Human Rights Campaign Dinner  

For the struggle waged by the Human Rights Campaign is about more than any policy we can enshrine into law. It's about our capacity to love and commit to one another. It's about whether or not we value as a society that love and commitment. It's about our common humanity and our willingness to walk in someone else's shoes: to imagine losing a job not because of your performance at work but because of your relationship at home; to imagine worrying about a spouse in the hospital, with the added fear that you'll have to produce a legal document just to comfort the person you love -- (applause) -- to imagine the pain of losing a partner of decades and then discovering that the law treats you like a stranger.....

personal acts of compassion.... families can show the same compassion in a time of need

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Obama at Human Rights Campaign Dinner
Video Source: @ Youtube
Notes:  
     
  2009-10-28 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Hate Crimes Prevention Act Commemoration  

And at every turn, we've made progress not only by changing laws but by changing hearts, by our willingness to walk in another's shoes, by our capacity to love and accept even in the face of rage and bigotry.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Youtube
Notes:  
     
  2009-12-18 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Press Conference in Copenhagen  

I think it is going to be very hard and it's going to take some time.  Let me sort of provide the context for what I saw when I arrived. And I think it's important to be able to stand in the shoes of all the different parties involved here.  In some ways the United States was coming with a somewhat clean slate, because we had been on the sidelines in many of these negotiations over several years.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Youtube
Notes:  
 
     
  2009-12-19 - Will Smith Interview with Barack Obama  
Will Smith: You talked about expanding our moral imagination. Would you Elaborate on that idea?

Barack Obama: When you think about what's happening in the world, on one hand it's shrinking. The internet, live feeds, Youtube, the internet. and that means no one around the world should be a stranger. And that should be be bringing us closer together. Because it reminds us that we are all the same.... but it's disorientating. People pull back in their own specific identity, their race, their tribe, their religion, and that is a dangerous thing because it can splinter people and cause conflict.

One of the critical ingredients of any effort  for peace is my ability to stand in your shoes, to see through your eyes, to constantly imagine, ‘What’s it like being a mother in Bangladesh right now?’ and if the waters were rising because of climate change.

That kind of ability to imagine ourselves in different situations helps us connect with those other people, and hopefully that can be part of what drives us to do better on a whole host of things.

  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  Youtube
Notes:  
 
     
     
  2009-12-23 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Jim Lehrer Newshour Interview  
And one of the things that I think Democrats and Republicans have to constantly do is try to put themselves in the other person's shoes. If we had a Republican president right now and a Republican-controlled Senate, and Democrats were doing some of these things, they'd be screaming bloody murder. And at some point, you know, I think the American people want to see government solve problems, not just engage in the gamesmanship that has become so customary in Washington.

 It is very important for I think those of us who desperately want peace, who see war as, at some level, a break-down, a manifestation of human weakness, to understand that sometimes it's also necessary - and you know, to be able to balance two ideas at the same time; that we are constantly striving for peace, we are doubling up on our diplomacy, we are going to actively engage, we are going to try to see the world through other people's eyes and not just our own;
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ PBS
Notes:  Obama on Jim Lehrer Newshour Interview
 
     

  2010

  2010-02-20 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: House Democratic Congress on Healthcare Vote  
Now, I can’t guarantee that this is good politics. Every one of you know your districts better than I do. You talk to folks. You’re under enormous pressure. You’re getting robocalls. You’re getting e-mails that are tying up the communications system. I know the pressure you’re under. I get a few comments made about me. I don’t know if you’ve noticed. (Laughter.) I’ve been in your shoes. I know what it’s like to take a tough vote. (at end ladder to success) Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Youtube  @ Whitehouse
Notes:  new to sort
 
     
  Around this time Obama starts talking a lot about compassion and not mentioning empathy directly, but is using the empathy metaphor of standing in other's shoes.

2010-02-19 - Remarks by The President At Town Hall Meeting In Henderson, Nevada 
    Through their unwavering commitment, they have driven and inspired countless acts of leadership, compassion,
2010-02-25  - Presidential Proclamation -- American Red Cross Month
    responding to challenges at home and abroad with compassion and generosity.
2010-03-09 - Remarks by the President Honoring Greek Independence Day
    and for the wisdom and compassion that has always defined your ministry.
2010-03-10  - Remarks by President Obama and President Preval of the Republic of Haiti
    who represent the true character of our country and who projected to the world the best face of America -- a face of
compassion and generosity
2010-03-25  - Presidential Proclamation -- Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A.
   To secure a bright future for America, we must instill in our children a love of learning as well as a spirit of compassion.
2010-04-01  - Presidential Proclamation - National Donate Life Month
   these individuals' lives depend on the compassion of a loved one or a complete stranger.
2010-04-11 - Statement by the President on Holocaust Remembrance Day
   those who endured the horrors of the Holocaust remind us of humanity’s capacity for decency and compassion.
2010-04-30 - Presidential Proclamation--National Day of Prayer
    they have driven and inspired countless acts of leadership, compassion, and service across our country
2010-05-07 - Presidential Proclamation--Mother's Day
    Through their unwavering commitment, they have driven and inspired countless acts of leadership, compassion, and service across our country
etc

 
     
  2010-05-01 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: U Michigan Commencement Ann Arbor MI  
Still, if you're someone who only reads the editorial page of The New York Times, try glancing at the page of The Wall Street Journal once in awhile. If you're a fan of Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, try reading a few columns on the Huffington Post website. It may make your blood boil; your mind may not often be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship.

So too is the practice of engaging in different experiences with different kinds of people. For four years at Michigan, you have been exposed to diverse thinkers and scholars; professors and students. Do not narrow that broad intellectual exposure just because you're leaving here. Instead, seek to expand it. If you grew up in a big city, spend some time with some who grew up in a rural town. If you find yourself only hanging around with people of your race or your ethnicity or your religion, broaden your circle to include people who've had different backgrounds and life experiences. You'll learn what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes, and in the process, you'll help make this democracy work.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Youtube  @ Whitehouse
Notes:  new to sort
     
  2010-05-09 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Hampton U Commencement Hampton VA  
All of this, I hope, has had the effect of opening your mind; of helping you understand what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes.  But now that your minds have been opened, it’s up to you to keep them that way.  It will be up to you to open minds that remain closed that you meet along the way.  That, after all, is the elemental test of any democracy: whether people with differing points of view can learn from each other, and work with each other, and find a way forward together.
Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Youtube 
  @ Whitehouse
Notes:  

 
     
  2010-06-07 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Kalamazoo Central High Commencement Kalamazoo MI  

So, graduates, I hope you’ll continue those efforts. Don’t make excuses. And I hope that wherever you go, you won’t narrow the broad intellectual and social exposure you’ve had here at Kalamazoo Central -- instead, seek to expand it. Don’t just hang out with people who look like you, or go to the same church you do, or share your political views. Broaden your circle to include people with different backgrounds and life experiences.  Because that’s how you’ll end up learning what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes. (Applause.)

That’s how you’ll come to understand the challenges other people face. 
And this is not just an academic exercise. It’s a way to broaden your ambit of concern and learn to see yourselves in each other. 

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Youtube   @ Whitehouse
Notes: 
 
     
  2010-08-29 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: Fifth Anniversary Hurricane Katrina New Orleans LA  
And together, we are helping to make New Orleans a place that stands for what we can do in America -- not just for what we can’t do.  Ultimately, that must be the legacy of Katrina:  not one of neglect, but of action; not one of indifference, but of empathy; not of abandonment, but of a community working together to meet shared challenges Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Whitehouse
Notes:
 
     
  2010-08-29 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy:  Occasion of Rosh Hashanah  
And as we begin this New Year, it is more important than ever to believe in the power of humility and compassion to deepen our faith and repair our world. At a time when too many of our friends and neighbors are struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads, it is up to us to do what we can to help those less fortunate. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source:  @ Whitehouse
Notes:  
     
  2010-10-21 - Barack Obama Promotes Empathy: It Gets Better  
It will mean that you’ll be more likely to help fight discrimination – not just against LGBT Americans, but discrimination in all its forms. It means you’ll be more likely to understand personally and deeply why it’s so important that as adults we set an example in our own lives and that we treat everybody with respect. That we are able to see the world through other people’s eyes and stand in their shoes – that we never lose sight of what binds us together.  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Whitehouse
Notes:
     
2010-12-10 - President at Christmas in Washington
Because while Christmas is a time to celebrate, a time to sing chorals and exchange gifts, it’s also something more. It’s a time to rediscover the meaning of words like “charity” and “compassion” and “goodwill”; to do our part for our neighbors; to serve God through serving others. So from our family to yours, happy holidays, everybody. Merry Christmas, and God bless you all. And God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Whitehouse
Notes:
2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony

When you are among the youngest of nine children, you develop a strong sense of empathy. When those children are the Kennedys, you also develop a strong set of diplomatic skills just to be heard.

Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Whitehouse   @ C-Span
Notes:

 2011

2011-01-12 - Obama Remarks - Gabrielle Giffords - Tucson AZ
 But what we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each another. That we can not do. That we can not do. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let's use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
Video Source: @ Whitehouse
Notes:
2011-02-03 - National Prayer Breakfast - Washington DC
But until that day, we're called to work on behalf of a God that chose justice and mercy and compassion to the most vulnerable.

Over the past two years, the nature of these obligations, the proper role of government has obviously been the subject of enormous controversy.  And the debates have been fierce as one side’s version of compassion and community may be interpreted by the other side as an oppressive and irresponsible expansion of the state or an unacceptable restriction on individual freedom.
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Notes:  compassion
2011-03-10 - White House Conference on Bullying Prevention
The fact is, sometimes kids are going to make mistakes, sometimes they’re going to make bad decisions. That’s part of growing up. But it’s our job to be there for them, to guide them, and to ensure that they can grow up in an environment that not only encourages their talents and intelligence, but also their sense of empathy and their regard for one another. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2011-03-07 - Presidential Proclamation--National Volunteer Week
Last year, nearly 63 million Americans gave of themselves through service.  Their compassion is a testament to the generosity of the American spirit.  In difficult times, Americans are coming together -- tackling our challenges instead of ignoring them -- and renewing the principle that we are our brother's keeper and our sister's keeper. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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Notes: compassion
2011-04-13 - Fiscal Policy Speech - George Washington U - Washington DC
Thumbnail The America I know is generous and compassionate; a land of opportunity and optimism. We take responsibility for ourselves and each other; for the country we want and the future we share. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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Notes:  Compassion
2011-04-14 - Presidential Proclamation--Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A.
The future of our Nation depends on our ability to instill in future generations the values that will help them write the next proud chapter of the American story -- a dedication to knowledge and a sense of compassion for their fellow citizens.  As we celebrate Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., we recommit to preparing our sons and daughters to thrive with principle and purpose in the 21st century. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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Notes: Compassion
2011-04-14 - DNC Event at N9NE Restaurant - Chicago IL   (6:25PM)

Each and every time we’ve had to make a decision, my guiding principle, that North Star, has been those values that we talked about during the campaign:  I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper.  A belief in an America that is competitive and compassionate.  A belief that there’s nothing we can’t accomplish if we come together, and that we have to think big in terms of what we need to accomplish. And if we’re progressive, we’ve got to care about the deficit just as much as the other side does,..

But how we get there is important.  And you’ve got right now one side that I believe is entirely sincere that says we no longer can afford to do big things in this country.  We can’t afford to be compassionate.

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Notes: Compassion
2011-04-14 - DNC Event at MK Restaurant - Chicago  IL  (7:35PM)??
The idea that we are a country of individualists and freedom-loving people, folks who are self-reliant and entrepreneurial and understand that we have to earn our way, but also a country that recognizes we’re in this together, and that those of us who are lucky enough to be successful want to see other people be successful; and that we want a country that is reflective of generosity and compassion; and that we want every kid to be able to be a governor or the head of a big company, regardless of where they were born, and we want a country that respects everyone, regardless of their race or their gender or their sexual orientation.  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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Notes:  Compassion ,
10 min speech, w. Q&A
2011-04-14 - DNC Event at Navy Pier - Chicago IL  (9:30PM)
That's our vision for America.  We’ve got a big vision for America, of a compassionate America and a caring America and an ambitious America, not a small America.  It’s a vision where we’re living within our means but we’re still investing in our future.  Where everyone makes sacrifices; no one bears all the burden.  Where we live up to the idea that no matter who we are or what we look like, no matter whether our ancestors landed on Ellis Island or came here on slave ships or across the Rio Grande, we are connected to one another.  That I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper.  In this country, we rise and fall together. 

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Notes:  Compassion
2011-05-03 - 2011 Teachers of the Year - Washington DC
For me, one of those people was my fifth-grade teacher, Ms. Mabel Hefty.  When I walked into Ms. Hefty’s classroom for the first time, I was a new kid who had been living overseas for a few years, had a funny name nobody could pronounce.  But she didn’t let me withdraw into myself.  She helped me believe that I had something special to say.  She made me feel special.  She reinforced the sense of empathy and thoughtfulness that my mother and my grandparents had tried hard to instill in me -- and that’s a lesson that I still carry with me as President.

Ms. Hefty is no longer with us, but I often think about her and how much of a difference she made in my life.  And everybody has got a story like that, about that teacher who made the extra effort to shape our lives in important ways.

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2011-05-12 - National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast - Washington DC
So, yes, immigration reform is a moral imperative, and so it’s worth seeking greater understanding from our faith.  As it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy, “Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”  To me, that verse is a call to show empathy to our brothers and our sisters; to try and recognize ourselves in one another...

That sense of connection, that sense of empathy, that moral compass, that conviction of what is right is what led the National Association of Evangelicals to shoot short films to help people grasp the challenges facing immigrants.  It’s what led the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to launch a Justice for Immigrants campaign, and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition to advocate across religious lines.  It’s what led all the Latino pastors at the Hispanic Prayer Breakfast to come together around reform...

I’m asking you to help us recognize ourselves in one another. 

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2011-05-16 - Booker T Washington HS Commencement - Memphis TN
And finally, with the right education, both at home and at school, you can learn how to be a better human being.  For when you read a great story or you learn about an important moment in history, it helps you imagine what it would be like to walk in somebody else’s shoes, to know their struggles.  The success of our economy will depend on your skills, but the success of our community will depend on your ability to follow the Golden Rule -- to treat others as you would like to be treated. 

     We’ve seen how important this is even in the past few weeks, as communities here in Memphis and all across the South have come together to deal with floodwaters, and to help each other in the aftermath of terrible tornadoes.

     All of these qualities -- empathy, discipline, the capacity to solve problems, the capacity to think critically -- these skills don’t just change how the world sees us.  They change how we see ourselves.  They allow each of us to seek out new horizons and new opportunities with confidence -- with the knowledge that we’re ready; that we can face obstacles and challenges and unexpected setbacks.  That’s the power of your education.  That’s the power of the diploma that you receive today.

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2011-05-29 - Memorial Service Missouri Southern U - Joplin MO
What we do know is that in a split-second moment where there’s little time for internal reflection or debate, the actions of these individuals were driven by love -- love for a family member, love for a friend, or just love for a fellow human being. 
 
That’s good to know.  In a world that can be cruel and selfish, it’s this knowledge -- the knowledge that we are inclined to love one another, that we’re inclined to do good, to be good -- that causes us to take heart.  We see with fresh eyes what’s precious and so fragile and so important to us.  We put aside our petty grievances and our minor disagreements.  We see ourselves in the hopes and hardships of others.  And in the stories of people like Dean and people like Christopher, we remember that each us contains reserves of resolve and compassion.  There are heroes all around us, all the time.   
 
And so, in the wake of this tragedy, let us live up to their example -- to make each day count -- (applause) -- to live with the sense of mutual regard -- to live with that same compassion that they demonstrated in their final hours.  We are called by them to do everything we can to be worthy of the chance that we’ve been given to carry on.  
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2011-09-21 - Address to the United Nations General Assembly
 each side has legitimate aspirations -- and that’s part of what makes peace so hard. And the deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in the other’s shoes; each side can see the world through the other’s eyes. That’s what we should be encouraging. That’s what we should be promoting. This body -- founded, as it was, out of the ashes of war and genocide, dedicated, as it is, to the dignity of every single person -- must recognize the reality that is lived by both the Palestinians and the Israelis. The measure of our actions must always be whether they advance the right of Israeli and Palestinian children to live lives of peace and security and dignity and opportunity. And we will only succeed in that effort if we can encourage the parties to sit down, to listen to each other, and to understand each other’s hopes and each other’s fears. 

 Conflict and repression will endure so long as some people refuse to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Yet that is precisely why we have built institutions like this -- to bind our fates together, to help us recognize ourselves in each other -- because those who came before us believed that peace is preferable to war, and freedom is preferable to suppression, and prosperity is preferable to poverty. That’s the message that comes not from capitals, but from citizens, from our people.

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2011-12-11 - Christmas in Washington
And every year we celebrate His birth because the story of Jesus Christ changed the world. For me, and for millions of Americans, His story has filled our hearts and inspired our lives. It moves us to love one another; to help and serve those less fortunate; to forgive; to draw close to our families; to be grateful for all that has been given to us; to keep faith; and to hold on to an enduring hope in humanity. Service to others. Compassion to all. Treating others as we wish ourselves to be treated. Those values aren’t just at the center of Christianity; those are values that are shared by all faiths. So tonight let us all rededicate ourselves to each other. And, in that spirit, from my family to yours, happy holidays. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2012-05-13 - Mothers Day Greeting
'My mother was the single most important influence in my life. I saw her struggles as a single mom. She taught me the values of hard work and responsibility, but also of compassion and empathy - being able to look at the world through somebody else's eye and stand in their shoes.' Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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 2012-08-21 - First Lady at a Campaign Event
  These are basic values.  There are the values that we are all trying to pass on to our kids -- values like hard work, fairness, altruism, empathy.  Those are the values that so many of us grew up with, including myself.  So let me tell you guys a little story about me when I was around your age.  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2012-10-21 - Presidential Proclamation -- National Character Counts Week,
To ensure that each and every American has the chance to fulfill their promise, we must also teach our children to practice kindness and respect. Many students across our country have experienced bullying and harassment at school, online, or in their communities, eroding their ability to thrive and feel that they belong. This week, let us reaffirm our responsibility to make our schools and communities safe places that nurture not only our students' talents and intelligence, but also their sense of empathy and regard for one another. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2013
 2013-05-13 - Fostering Allies and Advocates through Developing Empathy (WhiteHouse.gov)
Karen L. Suyemoto Dismantling the armor enables the development of true empathy. Empathy is the ability to feel with another, not just for another. Empathy involves the willingness to hold another’s pain alongside one’s own. This kind of empathy forms the basis of authentic relationships and motivates the transformation of pain into action.

As (then) Senator Obama said in 2006: “Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world—one that makes you understand that your obligations to others extend beyond people who look like you and act like you and live in your neighborhood…. it’s not always easy…. But I hope you don’t do what’s easy. I hope you do what’s hard.”
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2013-03-21 - Barack Obama Calls for Empathy in Speech in Jerusalem (part 2)
"But the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, their right to justice must also be recognized. And put yourself in their shoes. Look at the world through their eyes.

 

It is not fair that a Palestinian child cannot grow up in a state of their own -- living their entire lives with the presence of a foreign army that controls the movements, not just of those young people but their parents, their grandparents, every single day

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2013-03-21 - Jerusalem International Convention Center (part 1)

 I ask you, instead, to think about what can be done to build trust between people...

 That's where peace begins -- not just in the plans of leaders, but in the hearts of people. Not just in some carefully designed process, but in the daily connections -- that sense of empathy that takes place among those who live together in this land and in this sacred city of Jerusalem. (Applause.)

And let me say this as a politician -- I can promise you this, political leaders will never take risks if the people do not push them to take some risks. You must create the change that you want to see. (Applause.) Ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things.  
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 2013-03-22 - Hall of Children - Yad Vashen - Jerusalem

And yet, here, alongside man’s capacity for evil, we also are reminded of man’s capacity for good -- the rescuers, the Righteous Among the Nations who refused to be bystanders.  And in their noble acts of courage, we see how this place, this accounting of horror, is, in the end, a source of hope

For here we learn that we are never powerless.  In our lives we always have choices.  To succumb to our worst instincts or to summon the better angels of our nature.  To be indifferent to suffering to wherever it may be, whoever it may be visited upon, or to display the empathy that is at the core of our humanity.  We have the choice to acquiesce to evil or make real our solemn vow -- “never again.” 

 We have the choice to ignore what happens to others, or to act on behalf of others and to continually examine in ourselves whatever dark places there may be that might lead to such actions or inactions.  This is our obligation -- not simply to bear witness, but to act.

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2013-04-08 - Statement from the President on Yom Hashoah
 On my recent trip to Israel, I had the opportunity to visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial, and reaffirm our collective responsibility to confront anti-Semitism, prejudice, and intolerance across the world.  On this Yom Hashoah, we must accept the full responsibility of remembrance, as nations and as individuals—not simply to pledge “never again,” but to commit ourselves to the understanding, empathy and compassion that is the foundation of peace and human dignity. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2013-05-20 - Morehouse College Atlanta GA
So your experiences give you special insight that today’s leaders need. If you tap into that experience, it should endow you with empathy -- the understanding of what it’s like to walk in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, to know what it’s like when you're not born on 3rd base, thinking you hit a triple. It should give you the ability to connect. It should give you a sense of compassion and what it means to overcome barriers.

And I will tell you, Class of 2013, whatever success I have achieved, whatever positions of leadership I have held have depended less on Ivy League degrees or SAT scores or GPAs, and have instead been due to that sense of connection and empathy -- the special obligation I felt, as a black man like you, to help those who need it most, people who didn’t have the opportunities that I had -- because there but for the grace of God, go I -- I might have been in their shoes. I might have been in prison. I might have been unemployed. I might not have been able to support a family. And that motivates me. So it’s up to you to widen your circle of concern -- to care about justice for everybody, white, black and brown. Everybody.
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2013-05-17 - President Obama Speaks to the People of Northern Ireland
Because issues like segregated schools and housing, lack of jobs and opportunity -- symbols of history that are a source of pride for some and pain for others -- these are not tangential to peace; they’re essential to it.  If towns remain divided -- if Catholics have their schools and buildings, and Protestants have theirs -- if we can’t see ourselves in one another, if fear or resentment are allowed to harden, that encourages division.  It discourages cooperation.

Ultimately, peace is just not about politics. It’s about attitudes; about a sense of empathy; about breaking down the divisions that we create for ourselves in our own minds and our own hearts that don’t exist in any objective reality, but that we carry with us generation after generation. And I know, because America, we, too, have had to work hard over the decades, slowly, gradually, sometimes painfully, in fits and starts, to keep perfecting our union
.
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 2013-06-19 - President Obama's statement on Trayvon Martin

 But we are a nation of laws, and a jury has spoken. I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son. And as we do, we should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to widen the circle of compassion and understanding in our own communities. We should ask ourselves if we’re doing all we can to stem the tide of gun violence that claims too many lives across this country on a daily basis. We should ask ourselves, as individuals and as a society, how we can prevent future tragedies like this. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2013-08-28 - Obama Marks 50th Anniversary March on Washington
The March on Washington teaches us that we are not trapped by the mistakes of history; that we are masters of our fate. But it also teaches us that the promise of this nation will only be kept when we work together. We’ll have to reignite the embers of empathy and fellow feeling, the coalition of conscience that found expression in this place 50 years ago.

And I believe that spirit is there, that truth force inside each of us. I see it when a white mother recognizes her own daughter in the face of a poor black child. I see it when the black youth thinks of his own grandfather in the dignified steps of an elderly white man. It’s there when the native-born recognizing that striving spirit of the new immigrant; when the interracial couple connects the pain of a gay couple who are discriminated against and understands it as their own
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That’s where courage comes from -- when we turn not from each other, or on each other, but towards one another, and we find that we do not walk alone.
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2013-09-04 -  President Obama Honors Raoul Wallenberg - make a habit of empathy - Stockholm

Days such as this are a time of reflection -- an occasion to consider not just our relationship with God, but our relationship with each other as human beings.  And we’re reminded of our basic obligations:  to recognize ourselves in each other; to treat one another with compassion; to reach out to the less fortunate among us; to do our part to help repair our world. ....

Wallenberg’s life is a challenge to us all -- to live those virtues of empathy and compassion, even when it’s hard, even when it involves great risk.....

 I cannot think of a better tribute to Raoul Wallenberg than for each of us -- as individuals and as nations -- to reaffirm our determination to live the values that defined his life, and to make the same choice in our time.  And so today we say that we will make a habit of empathy.  We will stand against anti-Semitism and hatred, in all its forms.  We will choose to recognize the beauty and dignity and worth of every person and every child.  And we will choose to instill in the hearts of our own children the love and tolerance and compassion that we seek.   

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2013-09-04 - Barack Obama says Pope Francis has an incredible sense of empathy

Pope Francis has “incredible humility, an incredible sense of empathy to the least of these, to the poor,” ...

“And he's also somebody who's, I think, first and foremost, thinking about how to embrace people as opposed to push them away, how to find what's good in them as opposed to condemn them.”
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2013-09-04 - President Obama Speaks on the Economy
And when I think about what I'm fighting for, what gets me up every single day, that captures it just about as much as anything. Kindness; empathy -- that sense that I have a stake in your success; that I'm going to make sure, just because Malia and Sasha are doing well, that's not enough -- I want your kids to do well also. And I'm willing to help to build good schools so that they get a great education, even if mine are already getting a great education. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2013-12-10 - President Obama Speaks at a Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela
And finally, Mandela understood the ties that bind the human spirit.  There is a word in South Africa -- Ubuntu -- (applause) -- a word that captures Mandela’s greatest gift:  his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that are invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.

We can never know how much of this sense was innate in him, or how much was shaped in a dark and solitary cell.  But we remember the gestures, large and small -- introducing his jailers as honored guests at his inauguration; taking a pitch in a Springbok uniform; turning his family’s heartbreak into a call to confront HIV/AIDS -- that revealed the depth of his empathy and his understanding.  He not only embodied Ubuntu, he taught millions to find that truth within themselves. 

It took a man like Madiba to free not just the prisoner, but the jailer as well -- (applause) -- to show that you must trust others so that they may trust you; to teach that reconciliation is not a matter of ignoring a cruel past, but a means of confronting it with inclusion and generosity and truth.  He changed laws, but he also changed hearts.
 
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2014
2014-03-27 - A Belief in Empathy: Barack Obama and Pope Francis at Vatican
I think the theme that stitched our conversation together was a belief that in politics and in life the quality of empathy, the ability to stand in somebody else’s shoes and to care for someone even if they don't look like you or talk like you or share your philosophy — that that's critical.

It’s the lack of empathy that makes it very easy for us to plunge into wars
. It's the lack of empathy that allows us to ignore the homeless on the streets. And obviously central to my Christian faith is a belief in treating others as I’d have them treat me. And what’s I think created so much love and excitement for His Holiness has been that he seems to live this, and shows that joy continuously.  
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2014-04-10 - President Obama Speaks on Civil Rights
 That was LBJ’s greatness.  That’s why we remember him.  And if there is one thing that he and this year’s anniversary should teach us, if there’s one lesson I hope that Malia and Sasha and young people everywhere learn from this day, it’s that with enough effort, and enough empathy, and enough perseverance, and enough courage, people who love their country can change it. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2014-04-07 - President Obama Speaks at the USC Shoah Foundation Dinner

And none of the tragedies that we see today may rise to the full horror of the Holocaust -- the individuals who are the victims of such unspeakable cruelty, they make a claim on our conscience.  They demand our attention, that we not turn away, that we choose empathy over indifference and that our empathy leads to action.  And that's not always easy.  One of the powerful things about Schindler’s story was recognizing that we have to act even where there is sometimes ambiguity; even when the path is not always clearly lit, we have  to try.    Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2014-10-06- Barack Obama Meeting on Ebola
We also have an obligation to make sure that those children and their families are safe as well, because ultimately the best thing we can do for our public health is also to extend the kind of empathy, compassion and effort so that folks in those countries as well can be rid of this disease. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2014-11-15 - President Obama at the University of Queensland
To the young woman tired of the tensions in her community, who dreams of helping her neighbors see beyond differences -- if she could just start a dialogue, if she knew how others had walked the same path -- well, America wants to be your partner, because we believe in the activist that you can be, and the empathy that you can build, and the understanding you can foster between people. And when you succeed, our world will be a little more peaceful.

And to the young man who believes his voice isn’t being heard, who dreams of bringing people like him together across his country -- if he just knew how to organize and mobilize them -- we want to be your partner, because we believe in the leaders that you can be, in the difference you can make to ignite positive change. And when you succeed, the world will be a little more free.
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2014-11-24 - Remarks by the President at Presentation of the Medal of Freedom - Meryl Streep
She learned violin, wore a nun’s habit, faced down a charging lion, mastered every accent under the sun. She inhabits her characters so fully and compassionately, saying, “It’s the great gift of human beings that we have this power of empathy.” And off screen, as an advocate for women and girls, she uses that gift to help others write the life stories of their choosing, and to encourage greater empathy in the rest of us. So Meryl is truly one of America’s leading ladies. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2014-12-04 - Barack Obama Christmas Tree Lighting
But while lighting the tree has entered into the 21st century, the story that we remember this season dates back more than 2,000 years.  It’s the story of hope –- the birth of a singular child into the simplest of circumstances -– a child who would grow up to live a life of humility, and kindness, and compassion; who traveled with a message of empathy and understanding; who taught us to care for the poor, and the marginalized, and those who are different from ourselves.  And more than two millennia later, the way he lived still compels us to do our best to build a more just and tolerant and decent world. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2014-12-07 - President in Immigration Town Hall -- Nashville, Tennessee

 

And in 2005, he started “Welcoming Tennessee,” which connects long-term residents in the community with new immigrants. And you’d have dinners and church socials, and at Rotary clubs, and folks got to know each other and maybe feel some empathy, and see themselves in new arrivals...

And so what happens is, is that once folks are here we kind of forget that we used to be there. And what I try to do when I talk about these issues is just try to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes and feel some empathy, and recognize that to some degree, if you’re American, somewhere back there, there was somebody who was a newcomer here too. And it wasn’t always neat and orderly the way the American population expanded across the West. And if we have that sense of empathy then maybe that creates civility. That’s why the kinds of efforts were seeing here in Nashville just conversations where people get to know newcomers is so important.

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2014-12-09 - President to Senior Leaders of the Federal Workforce

 

And for the short time that we're on this Earth, I always tell my daughters there are two things you need to learn.  One is you need to learn how to love and make connections with people, to show empathy and be able to stand in somebody else’s shoes, and understand what it is to be a friend or a spouse or a parent. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2014-12-12 - BET Interview With President Obama 
And as I said before, I think it is changing.  The good news is, is that when you look at who these protesters are, they're not all black.  You've got -- when you talk to the white friends of your daughter or my daughter, they’ve got a better attitude and a clearer mindset and a greater empathy for what’s going on. And I think each successive generation, as it gets more understanding, more familiarity, more comfort with people of other races and other cultures, then some of this dissipates. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2015
2015-01-28 - President Obama Speaks to the People of India
Do we act with compassion and empathy. Are we measured by our efforts -- by what Dr. King called “the content of our character” rather than the color of our skin or the manner in which we worship our God. In both our countries, in India and in America, our diversity is our strength. And we have to guard against any efforts to divide ourselves along sectarian lines or any other lines. And if we do that well, if America shows itself as an example of its diversity and yet the capacity to live together and work together in common effort, in common purpose;  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2015-01-28 - Presidential Proclamation -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2015
Today, we pause to pay tribute to the extraordinary life and legacy of Dr. King, and we reflect on the lessons he taught us. Dr. King understood that equality requires more than the absence of oppression; it requires the presence of economic opportunity. He recognized that "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny." In a world full of poverty, he called for empathy; in the face of brutality, he placed his faith in non-violence. His teachings remind us we have a duty to fight against poverty, even if we are wealthy; to care about the child in the decrepit school long after our own children have found success; and to show compassion toward the immigrant family, knowing that we were strangers once, too. Dr. King transformed the concepts of justice, liberty, and equality, and as he led marches and protests and raised his voice, he changed the course of history. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2015-01-30 - Presidential Proclamation: National African American History Month, 2015
Like the countless, quiet heroes who worked and bled far from the public eye, we know that with enough effort, empathy, and perseverance, people who love their country can change it. Together, we can help our Nation live up to its immense promise. This month, let us continue that unending journey toward a more just, more equal, and more perfect Union. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2015-06-02 - Barack Obama with Ilana Dayan 
"Well, I think it’s always difficult to put yourself in somebody else’s shoes. And I think Prime Minister Netanyahu -- I’ve gotten to know and worked with since almost the beginning of my presidency -- is somebody who loves Israel deeply."

"In my mind, there is a direct line between the Jewish experience, the African American experience, and as a consequence, we have, I hope, a special empathy and a special regard for those who are being mistreated because of the color of their skin or the nature of their faith. "

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2015-05-21 - Barack Obama - Goldberg Interview
“So if you are questioning settlement policy, that indicates you’re anti-Israeli, or that indicates you’re anti-Jewish. If you express compassion or empathy towards Palestinian youth, who are dealing with checkpoints or restrictions on their ability to travel, then you are suspect in terms of your support of Israel. If you are willing to get into public disagreements with the Israeli government, then the notion is that you are being anti-Israel, and by extension, anti-Jewish. I completely reject that,”  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2015-01-30 - President in Eulogy in Honor of Beau Biden
Like his father, Beau did not have a mean bone in his body.  The cruelty he’d endured in his life didn’t make him hard, it made him compassionate, empathetic.  But it did make him abhor bullies....

We can love deeply.  We can help people who need help.  We can teach our children what matters, and pass on empathy and compassion and selflessness.  We can teach them to have broad shoulders.

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2015-01-30 - Obama & Marilynne Robinson
The President: Are you somebody who worries about people not reading novels anymore? And do you think that has an impact on the culture? When I think about how I understand my role as citizen, setting aside being president, and the most important set of understandings that I bring to that position of citizen, the most important stuff I’ve learned I think I’ve learned from novels. It has to do with empathy. It has to do with being comfortable with the notion that the world is complicated and full of grays, but there’s still truth there to be found, and that you have to strive for that and work for that. And the notion that it’s possible to connect with some[one] else even though they’re very different from you. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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Presidential Proclamation -- Read Across America Day, 2015
The written word provides a window to a larger world.  From prose and poetry, we learn our earliest lessons about tolerance and empathy, and on the pages of great books, children can see for the first time that their potential is limited only by the size of their dreams and the power of their imaginations.  

Presidential Proclamation -- National Character Counts Week, 2015
As we celebrate National Character Counts Week, we draw inspiration from those who paved the way for greater tolerance and empathy among all people, recognize the efforts and abilities of those around us, and work to carry forward our common principles and instill them in the hearts and minds of future generations.


Remarks by the President in Address to the Illinois General Assembly
February 10, 2016
  Rather than reward the most extreme voices, or the most divisive language, or who is best at launching schoolyard taunts, we should insist on a higher form of discourse in our common life, one based on empathy and respect, -- which does not mean you abandon principle. It doesn't mean you're not tough.

2016-02-10 - President in Address to the Illinois General Assembly
Rather than reward the most extreme voices, or the most divisive language, or who is best at launching schoolyard taunts, we should insist on a higher form of discourse in our common life, one based on empathy and respect, -- which does not mean you abandon principle. It doesn't mean you're not tough.

Rather than paint those who disagree with us as motivated by malice, to suggest that any of us lack patriotism -- we can insist, as Lincoln did, that we are not enemies, but friends; that our fellow Americans are not only entitled to a different point of view, but that they love this country as much as we do.
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2016-04-23 - Obama in Town Hall with Young Leaders of the UK
You know this better than I do, but one of the things that you see in Northern Ireland that's most important is the very simple act of recognizing the humanity of those on the other side of the argument, having empathy and a sense of connection to people who are not like you. That's taken time, but you're now seeing that. And I think among young people who are interacting more, you're seeing that. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2016-05-07 - Obama at Howard University commencement ceremony
But we must expand our moral imaginations to understand and empathize with all people who are struggling, not just black folks who are struggling -- the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender person, and yes, the middle-aged white guy who you may think has all the advantages, but over the last several decades has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change, and feels powerless to stop it. You got to get in his head, too. Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2016-08-06 -  Olympic games, as it "builds a sense of empathy
While the Rio Games won't end world poverty, President Obama sees value in the Olympic games, as it "builds a sense of empathy" to the worl Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2016-09-20 -President Obama 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly
 But we have to follow through, even when the politics are hard.  Because in the eyes of innocent men and women and children who, through no fault of their own, have had to flee everything that they know, everything that they love, we have to have the empathy to see ourselves.   We have to imagine what it would be like for our family, for our children, if the unspeakable happened to us. 

And we should all understand that, ultimately, our world will be more secure if we are prepared to help those in need and the nations who are carrying the largest burden with respect to accommodating these refugees....

And during the course of these eight years, as I've traveled to many of your nations, I have seen that spirit in our young people, who are more educated and more tolerant, and more inclusive and more diverse, and more creative than our generation; who are more empathetic and compassionate towards their fellow human beings than previous generations. 
 

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2016-09-12 - Statement by the President on the Occasion of Eid al-Adha
As we mark Eid al-Adha this year, we are reminded of the millions of refugees around the globe who are spending this sacred holiday separated from their families, unsure of their future, but still hoping for a brighter tomorrow. And as a Nation, we remain committed to welcoming the stranger with empathy and an open heart—from the refugee who flees war-torn lands to the immigrant who leaves home in search of a better life.  Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2017-01-10 - Obama Farewell
But laws alone won't be enough. Hearts must change. It won't change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction — Atticus Finch — who said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

For blacks and other minority groups, it means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face — not only the refugee, or the immigrant, or the rural poor, or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who, from the outside, may seem like he's got advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change. We have to pay attention, and listen. (Applause.)
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DOCUMENTARY 'THE FINAL YEAR'
"History really doesn't follow a straight line. It zigs and zags, but the trend lines ultimately will be in the direction of a less violent, more empathetic, more generous world. And that requires individuals fighting for that future," Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section
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2021-06-29 -  President Barack Obama calls libraries “citadels of knowledge and empathy”
President Barack Obama was the closing speaker at the 2021 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition
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Lists and Sources for Barack Obama's Speeches