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Taking a look around me this morning, it strikes me that disconnection and a lack of empathy is the enemy of us all. It divides and conquers. It makes poor men being fed scraps cheer for the rich men who do everything to keep him in the gutter. It lets us stare out at the world and see shadows everywhere and enemies at every turn, often to the point of ignoring the real enemies who cackle at our stupidity. It makes us run from the world, blame our problems on everyone else, and try to stick our collective heads in the sand.
There is a common thread that runs through our troubles. It’s a lack of empathy. A lack of caring. And, no, love will not win on its own. Prayers will not change the world on their own. If this was the case, it would be done. It takes a battle—within and without. We have to battle our darker impulses. Resist the desire to label and group and try to always focus on those individual sparks of humanity out there. Those people both different than us and just like us in so many ways. It takes action, both big and small.
Living in the world, as we all must, is hard. It’s messy and complicated. There are no quick fixes or perfect answers. But when we come from a place of hatred or fear while trying to tackle those problems, while trying to confront those problems head on… We are all sunk from the start.
History is our teacher here. Change is not a magical, impossible thing. It’s hard fought and hard won.
