Empathy and The Heart of Darkness
What is empathy? It is the capacity to “walk in another’s shoes.” To walk in another’s shoes means to understand, feel, and identify as an other. It is different from compassion, which is when one in a superior position feels sorry for a less fortunate other. Empathy is a two-way street. The feeling of understanding for the unfortunate must go the other way as well. It involves understanding as well as being understood, and trust and respect that go both ways. I must understand who I am in my shoes, before I can walk in those of another. Empathy is a feeling of equality of the humanity among all humans. In current politics, Mr. Musk has stated that “...empathy is a fundamental weakness of Western civilization...” Why would he say that the understanding and concern for the welfare of others, the bedrock of any society, is a weakness?
One of my favorite authors, Joseph Conrad, wrote a book, “The Heart of Darkness,” 1899. In that book, his protagonist, river boat captain, Charles Marlow steamed up the Congo in the small ship the Nellie. His mission was to restrain Mr. Kurtz, an ivory trader for a Belgian Company working in the Congo, who has “gone native.” Belgium King Leopold’s control of the Congo was notorious for the cruelty of its imperialistic control over the natives. The role of the imperialists was to extract the wealth of the Congo and ship it to Belgium, regardless of the inhumane treatment of the people living there. On his trip, Charles Marlow is stricken by his realization of the humanity of the native peoples and the scale of their suffering. In other words, he feels empathy for them. He describes the brutality of the god-king Mr. Kurtz, who in a bit of self-reflection, dewhat is going on in the Congo through his enigmatic statement, “The horror, the horror.”
Conrad can find no other words than, “...the horror, the horror...,” to describe the brutal treatment inflicted on the bodies, lives, and cultures of the natives under Belgium rule. His journey up the Congo River is also a metaphorical journey into the heart of evil. Imperialism, Christianity, and racism were masks under which the Belgian masters justified the evil they did. Once those masks were torn from Charles Marlow through his physical experience of the suffering of the native Congolese, he saw the true nature of the evil imperialist policies. Mr. Kurtz, a Belgian ivory trader, is the personification of that evil. He had no empathy for the indigenous Congolese people. Joseph Conrad (Charles Marlow) suffered a form of PTSD from his observations on his journey. He did indeed, travel to the heart of darkness.
In a democratic society, actions taken by government are our actions. When immigrants are rounded up and manhandled by masked ICE officials, it is with our consent. When we threaten friendly neighboring coun-r K tries, they are our threats. When we go into batscribes triggers and dropping the bombs. When our corporations take advantage of poor people in other countries for profit, it is us doing the exploiting. What we so often do not feel is the pain and suffering being inflicted on real human bodies by officials in our name. The feeling of identity with those being harmed is called empathy. We wear masks to insulate ourselves from “the horror, the horror,” of modern consumer civilization’s effects on the poorer populations of the world. Our tribal masks of nationalism, racism, religious idea that it is part of God’s plan, merit(ism), ethnic superiority, and intellectual superiority are all human taught and have been used to justify the brutality of the domination of the powerful over the weak. Because people are naturally competitive and love sensation, it is naive to think that by holding up the examples of Jesus and Siddhartha Gautama (a Buddha) will change their behavior. Both leaders taught religions of empathy. They did not wear luxurious robes, or preach in ornate cathedrals that were built by wealthy patrons. Instead, they went about their ministries in well worn robes among the poorest and most needy people of their societies.
How does one set up a society based on empathy? In order to create empathy in political and religious leaders I would suggest the following requirements: 1) that they get their health care in the poorest rated health facility in their jurisdiction; 2) that their kids go to the poorest rated public schools in their jurisdiction; 3) that they use public transportation to get to work; and 4) that they be required to live in a lower income area in their jurisdiction. Though it is extremely unlikely that our oligarchs would agree to these requirements, I guarantee, that mixing with average folks, and going through the same anxieties and issues they face in their daily lives, would increase the level of empathy of the members of our power elites.
Rick Lohr, formerly of Marathon City, is a retired history teacher and former owner and manager of Pine Valley Golf Course. He has been retired for over 20 years but has given about 650 talks to schools, service groups and senior centers related to the 45 counties he has traveled to.
/y C /
MUSINGS
tie, we consent to pulling the
