Empathy takes on Evil…
“As long as there is plenty, poverty is evil. Government belongs wherever evil needs an adversary….” Robert F. Kennedy
There is a wide swath of people who have no empathy and purposely put other people at risk by refusing to wear a mask.
We’re experiencing times in which our well being, personal and collective, depends on empathy, people caring for each other. These days, the simplest manifestation of that empathy is wearing a mask when you are around people. But there is a wide swath of people who have no empathy and purposely put other people at risk of contracting Covid-19 by refusing to wear a mask. Their claim is that health is a personal matter and that the government has no business involving itself in the health issues of individual people.
Covid-19 is an evil government must address…
From a realistic standpoint, something that has killed 900,000 Americans to date is more than a personal matter – it’s a national crisis. And the 900,000 figure reflects only people who have died directly from Covid-19. It does not include what are known as “excess deaths.” These are deaths caused indirectly by the pandemic. For example, people who couldn’t get emergency care or whose care was delayed because the health care system is overwhelmed or who may have had mental health crises, which led to overdoses and suicides. When you count these deaths, the number of covid-related deaths approaches a million – and it is still claiming lives as we speak.
Federal, state, local governments are taking on the pandemic evil directly by mandating vaccinations and mask-wearing in indoor places.
Pure and simple: Covid-19 is an evil that is plaguing the country, an evil that needs an adversary. And as the late Robert F. Kennedy observed, government belongs wherever evil needs an adversary. To their credit, governments at different levels – federal, state, local – are taking on the pandemic evil directly by mandating vaccinations and mask-wearing in indoor places such as stores, entertainment venues, bars and restaurants, etc.
Historically, government has played a key role in confronting societal evils. A few examples:
* Slavery was an evil that government eradicated via a civil war …
* Children going hungry was an evil that was addressed through various government actions, principally the Aid to Dependent Children program created during the Great Depression (later renamed Aid for Families with Dependent Children) …
* Elderly people dying due to lack of medical care was an evil that government addressed via the enactment of Medicare …
* Children used as cheap labor was an evil that the government stopped by passing laws outlawing the practice.
These governmental actions are exercises in empathy.
Empathy is a universal virtue…
Slavery was an evil that government eradicated via a civil war.
Empathy is a quality, a virtue, that is recognized universally. All major religions have a version of the Golden Rule – do unto others as you want done unto you, which is in essence a formula for empathy. One of the most cited Gospel passages is Matthew 25:35-40. The passage ends with Jesus saying, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me,” which is a command to his followers to practice empathy.
But empathy is not limited to religion. In Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them (Free Press, 1999), Dr. James Garbarino of Cornell University argues that much youth violence can be prevented if, among other things, parents, teachers, clergy, and others stimulate a sense of empathy in youth, that is, teach them to feel and care for others. Garbarino posits that society will benefit if young people are exposed in a meaningful way to life principles that religions try to instill in its followers, principles such as a love of self as a worthy human being, a love of and respect for one’s neighbor(s), and the belief that one is a valued and contributing member of a community that shares common beliefs and goals.
Garbarino’s theory is catching on. Throughout the country, more and more juvenile courts and probation departments are adopting community service as part of their strategies for dealing with non-violent juvenile offenders instead of incarceration or standard probation. Community service such as volunteering at a food bank or other community non-profit organizations is predicated on empathy, i.e., caring for others, and is considered by juvenile courts and probation departments to be an important and valuable tool that can go a long way toward increasing offender accountability and reconnecting youth and community. This approach is promising. Studies show that offenders are re-arrested and processed in the judicial system significantly less often after having performed community service compared to after having been incarcerated.
Dr. James Garbarino argues that much youth violence can be prevented if parents, teachers and clergy stimulate a sense of empathy in youth.
Empathy is the foundational principle of the Dog Training Program used in prisons. In this program prisoners learn how to train abandoned and abused dogs, who are often destined for being euthanized. Inmates who come from broken families and have never experienced unconditional love experience it when they come in contact with a dog. Reports indicate that the positive behavioral effects of prison animal programs include enhanced empathy, emotional intelligence, communication, patience, self-control, and trust.
Mask mandates are empathy in practice…
The foundational principle of mask mandates is also empathy. There is nothing inherently obnoxious in asking people to be considerate of others, especially regarding health issues. We do it all the time, pursuant to government mandates. We require passengers in our cars to buckle up. People do not smoke in confined spaces. We do not drive while drunk. Businesses are not allowed to dump toxic chemicals in rivers. We vaccinate our children in order to enroll them in school. These are just a few examples of health-related government mandates we – including those who protest mask mandates – comply with readily and willingly because we know they are for the public good.
And just as the above government mandates save lives, so do mask mandates. A 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found that a national uniform mask mandate for employees who interact with the public would have produced a 40 percent reduction in deaths, nationally. That’s a lot of saved lives. In short, mask mandates have everything to do with being humane, with caring for our families, our neighbors, our community, and nothing to do with politics.
That they are being politicized goes beyond sad. It is irresponsible. It is wrong. It is deadly. The primary job of government is to protect its people. Covid-19 is an evil that needs to be confronted, and it is the government’s responsibility to lead that confrontation, to be that evil’s adversary. Not to do so would be a dereliction of duty, plain and simple.
In an ideal world we would not need government – or religions, for that matter – to get us to care for each other, to practice empathy. But, alas, we do not live in that world. c/s
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