I was having lunch with some coworkers and the topic of poverty came up. You have that look of pity on your face. I understand. I shouldn’t discuss these sorts of topics with people whom I might offend. I’m a masochist. I know it. But I did. So deal with it.
Someone had inferred that most of people in poverty earned their poverty. It was stated implicitly that the poor in general lacked the will and fortitude to get themselves out of their own situation. I, playing the devil’s advocate, stated out loud that there might be historical reasons for that fact. I did this not in defense of anyone in particular. It was at this point that I found out that I was in the minority on this particular opinion. One particular person stated that he had nothing to do with it. He went on to further state that it was a poor excuse to bring up history, because he, himself, had been able to boot strap himself out of his own financial problems.
This last argument is of a type of fallacy in argumentative debates that irks me greatly. It assumes that everyone has the same problem as you. There are no variance from you own. This is not true in life. There are in general cases that are similar, but each one has it’s own differences subtle enough that you cannot argue finality based upon those broad similarities.
My greatest annoyance out of this whole conversation was the lack of empathy and compassion that I see so little recently. I mean genuine empathy and compassion. Not the variety to sooth one’s own guilt. Nor the variety used to hide one’s own duplicitous nature or as a side road to some ultimate goal for the self. And most certainly not the variety used to publicly demonstrate one’s own superiority. This last one is one I find most distasteful.
In my opinion, what is most beneficial is when one comes to understand one’s own failings and a willingness to better the self and the world at the same time. Compassion and empathy should benefit the self and the community. I don’t expect I’ll ever shed my avarice, but I can certainly use it for the benefit of all.
I need to say that I’m far from what I’ve just described before I give you the impression that I’m a genuine in my empathy and compassion. I’m far from it. I DO try. Though more often than not, I find myself lacking. Much more often than not.