Empathy, Compassion, and Consequences
I think that being compassionate and feeling empathy is a good thing.
Empathy, the ability to put yourself in another’s shoes, is what makes human society function well.
Usually, when someone commits a crime, or breaks the unwritten rules of society there are consequences, or more normally potential consequences. Sometimes those consequences can have a domino effect.
For example in the UK, minor crimes are often tried in a magistrate’s court. The maximum prison sentence that can be given is 6 months. In the great scheme of things, 6 months is not that long - it’s not long enough for a rehabilitation programme or anything - but it is long enough to potentially lose your home, your job, your partner and your children.
Lots of people are (as they should be) compassionate where they thing the initial consequences do not fit the crime. I think it’s also a good thing to be compassionate, and have empathy, when you do think that the initial consequences fit the crime. After all, the person involved may have taken on the risk of the subsequent consequences, but that still doesn’t mean that they are fair.
Leaving aside fairness of punishment though, I think it’s good to have empathy, even where the punishment does fit the crime. Not sympathy. Not wishing that you could help them avoid the consequences. Empathy. Being able to put yourself in their position as far as you can, and still treating them like the human that they are.
What’s your take?
Popularity: 24% [?]
Argument from Personal Experience
Several years ago, I was a big festival, listening to an amazing group. Everyone around me was singing along - as was I. The atmosphere was electric, and I was overcome by an immense feeling of euphoria and connectedness. It was as if time had stopped, and I was completely immersed in the moment, and the people around me. If there was a heaven, it would be like that moment, where nothing else mattered but the experience.
I was stone cold sober at the Glastonbury Festival listening to R.E.M.
Understandably I don’t hold much truck with the “I believe in God because I had this amazing personal experience“. I’m sure that people do have amazing personal experiences that they just cannot explain. But, I fail to see why God is such a brilliant explanation.
I’ve never told a religious person about my Glastonbury experience, as I’m pretty certain that they’d tell me that it wasn’t the same. That it wasn’t as good as their God experience. Maybe they’re right - it’s a little difficult to tell. But, I think that would unfairly denigrates my experience.
Experience is everything. And intense experiences that you remember for years are one of the things that life is made of. Just because you are a reasonable and rational human being, doesn’t mean you can’t have remarkable, and unexplainable experiences. But, as you know, that doesn’t make them anything other than utterly human.
Image by Napalm filled tires
Popularity: 14% [?]
Children Are Important, But…
I am the person that good Christian parents would hate their sons to marry. I’m atheist, socially liberal, and politically definitely left of centre. Some of this can be outweighed by other details, I’m generally polite, well-spoken and can make intelligent conversation if needed. The biggest problem is children. I’m not a big fan.
I’m in my late twenties, and for the last 10-15 years have been saying that I don’t really want children. Most people seem to think that I’ll change my mind, and I accept that this is perfectly possible. I’m not opposed to children; well-behaved ones that I can give back after a few hours can be pretty good fun. I’ve also got enough of an ego to think that I could make a satisfactory parent if required. But I’ve got absolutely no desire to have children, I’m missing the gene for really wanting them.
I don’t think that it’s ok to just have children for no good reason. I realise that people end up in positions with few great options all the time, but it’s much better to think and decide to have or not have kids, than to have them without thought. People who come from a religious background who then realise that they are atheist usually put a lot of effort into coming to that realisation, yet because it’s not what everyone else wants to hear, they are often criticised. Similarly, people who choose to be child-free usually put a lot of effort and time into their decision, but because it’s not as socially acceptable a choice they are derided as selfish and uncaring.
For me, children are important. They represent the future and the continuation of us. If we want our values to survive beyond our generation, we need to instill them in our children. But, I do not feel that I personally have to breed in order to pass on my values to the generations below - which is why I don’t feel that I will be unfulfilled without genetic offspring. I must be a random mutation because my genes are not as important as my memes.
Image in public domain
Popularity: 11% [?]
