Empathy and Insight
I received a response e-mail today taking exception to my post "Pity the Pope". The responder made some very kind, thoughtful comments about me and my thought processes, but forgot to leave his name. Funny how that happens, ain't it? But I'd still like to reply to him/her/it.
First, I send out thanks for agreeing with me that the Pope made a major error. He flubbed it. He tripped. He dropped the pop up flyball. He messed up. You and me, we agree. He should have known that there was no way that one paragraph in his speech would be well-received, and should simply have left it out.
Second, he/she/it said I lacked "empathy and insight", and suggested I get some. He/she/it's probably right. Mom always said I lacked empathy and insight. And I know (from personal experience with me) that I'm frequently hard-hearted and often downright stupid. So I appreciate his/her/its suggestion and, believe it or not, I'm working on it. I really am.
On the other hand, I'm not sure how much insight it takes to understand that shooting nurses who are taking care of the children you blew up with a bomb on their schoolbus, is simply unacceptable. And could we just maybe agree that sawing the heads off people just because they disagree with you is out of bounds? Maybe I'm not being empathetic, but gee golly I don't feel unreasonable when I request that people not be kidnapping-murdering-oppressors.
I was once counseling a man who had the bad habit of beating up his wife. He wouldn't accept that it was WRONG to pound her. "She makes me so mad sometimes". OK, but you STILL don't get to punch her in the face. "If you knew what she's like to live with..." Sorry, throwing her into a wall IS STILL WRONG. And being a terrorist - creating terror by attacking innocent civilians - is, simply, wrong.
Third, he/she/it also suggests I need to admit that I have "no inkling of what middle eastern folks think, feel, or want." Well, that I can't admit, because he/she/it is simply wrong. I've spent a little time in the Middle East. I've had friends from the West Bank. I know missionaries in Gaza and Lebanon. I've observed and had these discussions with people who DO know. And here are a few things I've discovered:
1. "Middle eastern folks" come in lots of shapes, sizes, and colors, and lumping them together as one big group of SunniShiaWahabiJordanianSyrioEgypTalibanianCopts is silly.
2. Israeli-style "Middle eastern folks" would rather not have their children massacred.
3. Arab-style "Middle eastern folks" would rather not have their children massacred.
4. Some "Middle eastern folks" are quite glad to kill anyone if a) they feel insulted, b) they think the other person is of the wrong religion, or c) they think it will get them into paradise faster.
5. The people described in item 4 TEND to be (PROFILING ALERT! PROFILING ALERT!) Muslims of a particularly ruthless type (see: 9/11/01). And they're evil.
6. Arab AND Israeli-style "Middle eastern folks" can live together in peace, and have shown it many times. But only when they decide blowing each other up is wrong.
7. Christ tears down walls of separation between people, and makes a new ethnicity in His own image.
8. Pita and hummus and paprika chicken and hand-eaten rice and grapefruit juice and turkish coffe and baklava make a pretty dandy meal.
Finally, he/she/it closed with this thought: "Jesus would not have made the speech the Pope did. He wouldn't have spoken... he would have listened...." I agree halfway. I think He might have made the speech the Pope made, but leave out one hopelessly inept 500-year old quote.
On the other hand, to think that Jesus wouldn't have spoken out at all is opinion not based on evidence. All He DID (except give His life for us) was speak out. He never missed a teaching moment. He NEVER asked anyone's opinion, except to then show them how to improve their thinking. He criticized a lot, and had a right to: He was God incarnate, and you don't get more authority than that.
I'm pretty sure Jesus would have told the terrorists to knock it off - that they are completely without excuse. He might have also told the Pope to watch his mouth. And He probably would have told me to be more empathetic and insightful.
Like I said, I'm working on it.
First, I send out thanks for agreeing with me that the Pope made a major error. He flubbed it. He tripped. He dropped the pop up flyball. He messed up. You and me, we agree. He should have known that there was no way that one paragraph in his speech would be well-received, and should simply have left it out.
Second, he/she/it said I lacked "empathy and insight", and suggested I get some. He/she/it's probably right. Mom always said I lacked empathy and insight. And I know (from personal experience with me) that I'm frequently hard-hearted and often downright stupid. So I appreciate his/her/its suggestion and, believe it or not, I'm working on it. I really am.
On the other hand, I'm not sure how much insight it takes to understand that shooting nurses who are taking care of the children you blew up with a bomb on their schoolbus, is simply unacceptable. And could we just maybe agree that sawing the heads off people just because they disagree with you is out of bounds? Maybe I'm not being empathetic, but gee golly I don't feel unreasonable when I request that people not be kidnapping-murdering-oppressors.
I was once counseling a man who had the bad habit of beating up his wife. He wouldn't accept that it was WRONG to pound her. "She makes me so mad sometimes". OK, but you STILL don't get to punch her in the face. "If you knew what she's like to live with..." Sorry, throwing her into a wall IS STILL WRONG. And being a terrorist - creating terror by attacking innocent civilians - is, simply, wrong.
Third, he/she/it also suggests I need to admit that I have "no inkling of what middle eastern folks think, feel, or want." Well, that I can't admit, because he/she/it is simply wrong. I've spent a little time in the Middle East. I've had friends from the West Bank. I know missionaries in Gaza and Lebanon. I've observed and had these discussions with people who DO know. And here are a few things I've discovered:
1. "Middle eastern folks" come in lots of shapes, sizes, and colors, and lumping them together as one big group of SunniShiaWahabiJordanianSyrioEgypTalibanianCopts is silly.
2. Israeli-style "Middle eastern folks" would rather not have their children massacred.
3. Arab-style "Middle eastern folks" would rather not have their children massacred.
4. Some "Middle eastern folks" are quite glad to kill anyone if a) they feel insulted, b) they think the other person is of the wrong religion, or c) they think it will get them into paradise faster.
5. The people described in item 4 TEND to be (PROFILING ALERT! PROFILING ALERT!) Muslims of a particularly ruthless type (see: 9/11/01). And they're evil.
6. Arab AND Israeli-style "Middle eastern folks" can live together in peace, and have shown it many times. But only when they decide blowing each other up is wrong.
7. Christ tears down walls of separation between people, and makes a new ethnicity in His own image.
8. Pita and hummus and paprika chicken and hand-eaten rice and grapefruit juice and turkish coffe and baklava make a pretty dandy meal.
Finally, he/she/it closed with this thought: "Jesus would not have made the speech the Pope did. He wouldn't have spoken... he would have listened...." I agree halfway. I think He might have made the speech the Pope made, but leave out one hopelessly inept 500-year old quote.
On the other hand, to think that Jesus wouldn't have spoken out at all is opinion not based on evidence. All He DID (except give His life for us) was speak out. He never missed a teaching moment. He NEVER asked anyone's opinion, except to then show them how to improve their thinking. He criticized a lot, and had a right to: He was God incarnate, and you don't get more authority than that.
I'm pretty sure Jesus would have told the terrorists to knock it off - that they are completely without excuse. He might have also told the Pope to watch his mouth. And He probably would have told me to be more empathetic and insightful.
Like I said, I'm working on it.
posted by David Hardesty | 10:35 PM
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