Empathy

Human beings are animals. This is a scientific fact. Sure, we're typically smarter than most other animals, but we aren't special. We live and we die like any other living thing. No offense to any religious folks out there, but I do not believe we are children of any kind of god. We weren't created in the eyes of any omniscient being. We don't exist for any special reason. We exist due to random chance is this crazy, complex universe. Until recently, I felt special. I thought humans in general were special. I thought we were somehow more than just the collection of molecules that comprise our bodies and minds. 

We are all genetically very similar, but we're all wired differently, in a psychological sense. It's a mixture of nature and nurture. I used to think that since we are all human, we can all understand each other. I thought we could all feel empathy toward each other. I thought that being human, everyone must feel the same as I do, deep down. I don't believe this any more.

No matter what you do. How logical you are. How clear and articulate you are. Some people will feel a certain way no matter what you say to them. No matter what happens. Often, people act on feeling rather than logic. Often, it doesn't matter what the logic says. And sometimes, life isn't logical, so you have no choice but to act on feeling. Or perhaps, one cannot understand the logic or what the communication is attempting to convey. 

People are selfish in a way that they have no regard for others. Some are innately power hungry. Some feel superior to others, often in the form of racism. Many believe they know what's best, regardless of the logical views of others. In my experiences so far in life, I believe there is a spectrum. Most people I've interacted with are similar while a few select others are outliers. The outliers include the people who are racist, power hungry, or extremely selfish. The others are calm, logical, empathetic people that seem similar to myself. 

I am a pacifist to an extent. Popular historic pacifists include Einstein, Helen Keller, John Lennon, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr (MLK). Avoid war at all costs. As we are humans, we should be able to resolve any issues in a logical manner. However, this is based on the gigantic assumption that all humans feel empathy. The assumption that all humans are logical. The assumption that all humans can be convinced, given a clear argument. Take Hitler for example. Do you think he felt empathy? Do you think he could have ever been convinced that his race was not superior to those of others in the world? I don't think so. Therefore, war was necessary. 

MLK contrasted with those such as Malcolm X. How do you bring about change in a world where not all can be convinced? MLK believed in peaceful protests. Malcolm X, at least earlier on believed peaceful protests were not effective. Are riots effective at bringing about change? That is hard to say. Maybe. Personally, I react better to calm, logical arguments. Personally, I can be convinced given a sound argument. If I see a riot with violence, destruction, and looting I generally don't react well - especially if people are being hurt, but I do see why some people feel it is necessary. 

Some people are evil in the sense that they have absolutely no regard for others. Note that I am not using the word, "evil", in the typical understanding of good and evil or right and wrong. As long as they thrive, it doesn't matter one bit if everyone else suffers. Sometimes these people are very obvious about their disregard for others. Others hide it. Some hide it so well, they appear altruistic on the outside, but actually have evil core. It might not be obvious in their look or in their speech, but if you look closely at their actions, you may be able to catch a glimpse of it. Sometimes, it's very obvious to some, but not to others. 

So, here's a question. Are billionaires evil? This obviously depends on your definition of the word evil, but, let's phrase it another way: do billionaires have an extreme lack of regard for others? I would say for the most part, yes! A billion dollars is a staggering amount of money. Hundred (100), thousand (1,000), million (1,000,000), billion (1,000,000,000), trillion (1,000,000,000,000). These are just words. If you have a hard time grasping just how much larger one billion is compared to a million, here's a nice visual drawn by yours truly. I know, I should have been an artist. If you stack $100 dollar bills, 1 million dollars will be about 5 feet tall. A billion dollars will stack up to the height of the tallest building in the world. $1 trillion would reach outer space. The drawing is not to scale, so the $ 1 billion is even taller. 

$1 million is the amount of money many people work their entire lives to acquire so that they can retire comfortably say around the age of 65. Sadly, most of us aren't able to even do that. There are about 2000 billionaires worldwide. Because they have such vast amounts of money, this gives them power. Because they have such a vast percentage of wealth, this means A LOT less for everyone else. $1 trillion is an obscene amount of money for any one person to have. I think it's pretty obvious they have an extreme disregard for everyone else. They live like kings and queens while the large percentage of the world's population suffers. 

My guess is that unregulated capitalism is the cause of the world's billionaires. Without any rules or laws in place set by the government, people can continue to gain wealth at an exponential rate like Jeff Bezos, the CEO and creator of Amazon whose net worth is about 200 billion dollars. He may be on track to be the world's first trillionaire. As disturbing as this is, I find it even more disturbing that people continue to buy products on Amazon. Some billionaires give some of their money away to charities, but it's not enough. We need a wealth tax. Period. These people are forever greedy and selfish. Because we can't expect them to change, the government needs to step in. Sadly, many people in government are affiliated with these billionaires, so government may not do a thing. 

Well, that was a rant and a half. Now, getting back to what I originally wanted to discuss... humans, despite being 99.99% the same genetically, how different and animal-like they are. Nature and nurture are contributing factors. Location and environment is another factor. For example, in Japan the collective good is emphasized as important. In America, it's a free for all, everyone for themselves. Japan, Canada, and several others countries have excellent country-wide government-funded healthcare. Have a major accident in one of these countries? Your bank account is fine. Have that same accident in the US? You could go bankrupt. In the US, your healthcare is tied to your job. Lose your job, lose your insurance. The government doesn't care about you. 

In general (unless we're talking about family), other people don't care about you. That is, unless you can do something useful for them. Does it seem like your boss at work cares about you? Probably. Do they actually care about you? No, probably not. They only care about how good you are at your job. If you don't provide any value, people won't care if you disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow. That's reality. That's what we are. For the most part. There are humans who do care for others who have no requirement that the other person do anything of value for them. You've heard of a parent's unrequited love for their child. Some parents don't have this, but I would say most do. A child can do absolutely nothing of value for the parent, yet the parent will always care deeply for them and are willing to do anything for them.

There are some people who have unrequited compassion for non-family members. Have you ever seen someone give money to a homeless person? These people are obviously expecting nothing in return. They feel for the less fortunate. They care. I would argue that this action makes them feel good, so they are actually getting something in return - but not from the other person directly. The same applies to people who give a portion of  their salary or time to charity or those who volunteer as soup kitchens. I like to think of these people as angels on earth. But, there aren't enough of them. And not enough of them are wealthy or in positions of power.

We have to get more of these angels on earth in power to shift the balance of empathy and selfishness. To do that, we all need to vote. In every single election we have the ability to vote in. Get more involved in politics. Research all the candidates. Vote for people you like and share common interests in. Otherwise we're letting selfish people rule our country and write our laws. Your government will not automatically care about you. People are animals. Do not expect one human in power to care for another simply because they are the same species. The government is a group of humans. If that group of humans is filled with uncompassionate people, the rest of us are doomed.