{"id":5861,"date":"2017-07-21T10:29:36","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T17:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/?p=5861"},"modified":"2017-07-21T10:29:36","modified_gmt":"2017-07-21T17:29:36","slug":"5861","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/uncommongodcommongood\/2017\/07\/5861\/","title":{"rendered":"Are We Numb, Drowning in a Shallow Pool of Compassion and Empathy in Our Society?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"4631591350_9b8afe4eab_z\"<\/a>
Photo Credit: Abe McOran Campbell<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

You may have seen or read the news about the teenagers who videotaped and mocked a man as he drowned in Cocoa, Florida.<\/a> All the teens had phones, but not one of them called for help to rescue the man (who was also disabled).<\/a> The teens were not charged in the incident, since there is no law in Florida that requires people to aid a person in distress\u2014not even to call someone to aid the person in distress.<\/p>\n

Cruel, heartless incidents like this disturb us, perhaps even scare us. Are we becoming numb to one another\u2019s pain in our society? What would cause these teens to videotape and mock another human being? Had they experienced hostility, disregard, abuse growing up? What can we do to increase compassion and empathy?<\/p>\n

Not everyone who has experienced abuse and abandonment reacts to others in a calloused way. Chester Bennington was one such individual. The lead singer of Linkin Park died yesterday<\/a> (the authorities are treating it as a suicide). Known for his piercing words and vocals, his deep, raw emotion and kindness, he was not numb to others (though he said he numbed himself to his own pain through his music<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The video recording of his band\u2019s song \u201cNumb\u201d<\/a> takes place in a church and goes back and forth from the sanctuary to a teenage girl who feels isolated, \u201ccaught in the undertow,\u201d smothered. How can we learn to become more sensitive to people\u2019s pain and grief? How can we not allow our own suffering to callous our hearts to those around us? One would hope that the church is a place and its music a venue where such angst is expressed, shared, rather than smothered and suffocated. Chester Bennington may have numbed himself to his own pain through music, but his music spiritually touched countless people\u2019s hearts, allowing them to express themselves, myself included.<\/p>\n

How well do we listen to one another\u2019s heart cries? Are we attentive? Given that God in Christ has accepted us, will we not accept others to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7)? Given that we can cast all our anxiety on him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7), will we not encourage others to do the same, even encouraging them to share with us while we simply listen?<\/p>\n

We may think it best given the short supply of compassion and empathy in our society to keep our own limited stock\u2014like our hearts\u2014under lock and key. But unlike commodities, compassion actually grows with use, as Michael J. Sandel has argued about altruism (See the review of Michael J. Sandel\u2019s What Money Can\u2019t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets<\/em> at TheHumanist.com by Peter C. Grosvenor<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Whether we see someone drowning in water or in the depths of dark emotion, including ourselves, we need to call for help, and be attentive to help. A society in which everything\u2014including human life\u2014is a base commodity has no basis for meaning, and isn\u2019t worth living in. Pick up the phone. Pick up the mic. Open the ear and heart.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may have seen or read the news about the teenagers who videotaped and mocked a man as he drowned in Cocoa, Florida. All the teens had phones, but not one of them called for help to rescue the man (who was also disabled). The teens were not charged in the incident, since there is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1284,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAre We Numb, Drowning in a Shallow Pool of Compassion and Empathy?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You may have seen or read the news about the teenagers who videotaped and mocked a man as he drowned in Cocoa, Florida. 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