If We do not Develop Empathy

If we do not develop a sense of empathy, the ability to experience the pain and joy of another, we will destroy ourselves;

Empathy for the African American male stopped by the police for the umpteenth time for no good reason;

Empathy for the police, spit on, abused and risking their lives to protect us;

Empathy for the gay man or woman humiliated and ostracized by their own faith community;

Empathy for the traditional Christian who wonders if everything they were taught about sexual morality is going to be reversed;

Empathy for the immigrant child who has lived in the US all their lives but now lives with the shadow of deportation;

Empathy for the blue collar men and women who are frustrated and afraid because all they can find are minimum wage jobs with no benefits if they can find a job at all;

Empathy for the lonely and afraid, the fearful and angry, the confused and ignorant, the poor, the marginalized, the hated.