The Impossible Empathy of Being

“Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.” “I am human, so nothing that is human is alien to me.” Publius Terentius Afer ~170 BC

A mentally ill man roams a campus in Virginia. He is yet another Christian seeking to do justice for his god and he is angry. He has weapons and so a tragedy unfolds. Thirty-two people are executed according to his judgment. A nation mourns. A Nation mourns.

Flowers are plentiful. Tears flow from every state and every city. Candlelight vigils fill the night. Bells ring and balloons are set adrift in the spring skies. News channels examine every pointless detail – over and over no less. Yammering news anchors even attempt to find logic and consistency in the last and rambling "manifesto" of a mentally-ill person. The lives of the victims are made public so that we will more acutely feel the loss. And heroes must also be paraded since there has to be something positive in all this – Right? It goes on for days.

At around the same time, about 200 people are killed in a bombing at a market in Iraq. Another tragedy. But this is different for some reason. It receives less than fifteen seconds on the nightly news. There are one or two short videos. There are no candlelight vigils here. No bells or balloons for these people. There is no outrage or grief at this massacre. Worse, they are anonymous – no personal histories are revealed about a single one of the victims.

Almost 3000 people died on September 11th 2001 and there was outrage and grief. Thousands of people went on passionate quests to rectify the tragedy. Some joined the military, some marched, and others set up charitable organizations. Yet, on April 6th, 1994, two Hutu militia groups began a genocide that lasted for three and a half months. 800,000 to 1,000,000 people died. There was no national outrage here. There was no swarm of compassionate people pressing themselves against the weight of the injustice. And even when some people noticed, very few really cared.

Why? What causes people to draw a line across which their empathy refuses to pass? Is it some bloody and artificial national boundary? Is it that trivial yet perpetual mask of cultural difference? Is it simple geographical distance on this tiny planet? Is it that ignorant and abusive idea about race? Does it just become eroded through frustration with imperfect and fallible social contracts? All of the above?

I don’t have the answer. I only know where my own empathy comes from. I know that I hate the idea that my life and my death will go unnoticed. I hate the idea that I am judged only as an object and never by the merits of my personality. I know that I hate being a disposable person. But mostly, I know that all I ever wanted was to be treated like a human being. And that’s why all these people matter to me – no matter where they live, what color their skin, what language they speak. Their lives and their deaths do matter to me because I want my life to matter to them. That’s why I get sad. And so that’s why I care.

- Just a peasant

Xerxes and George W. Bush

“Obviously I've gone to extremes in my presentation of religious law [in 300], but then this isn't a historical text; this is an adventure yarn.” Frank Miller (comic book creator)

One of the absurdities of the human condition is the Arrogance of Culture. It seems that most people believe in the superiority of their own cultural lifestyles and histories and, in doing so, propagate the illusions of their moral superiority as well. Sometimes this arrogance can move beyond the borders of the parent culture and even be absorbed by other cultures. For instance, the French language was once considered a language of sophisticates and became the lingua franca of European royalty. The Russian nobility even used it in everyday communication.

The historical reality of every conflict is distorted by both cultural bias and poor record keeping. It is rarer still, that a non-biased, critical examination is applied. Many people are, after all, romantics at heart.

There seems to be a bit too much controversy surrounding the movie 300. But what is most amusing, as perhaps a touch of cultural arrogance, is how most people automatically assume that the Spartans represent the American military and the Persian forces represent the Iraqi insurgents or the state of modern Iran or even Middle-Eastern terrorists in general. If I were to draw such a metaphorical implication from the movie, I could easily assume the complete opposite – with the Spartans representing the Iraqi insurgents and Xerxes representing President George W. Bush.

The Persians are the invaders of Greece – The United States is the invader of Iraq. Xerxes claimed to be a god-king and did as he pleased – Bush holds himself to be specially chosen by god as does as he pleases. The Persians offered peace if the Spartans would kneel – the US offers peace if the Iraqis will kneel. The Persians offered power and wealth if the Spartans would yield – the US offers democracy and security if the Iraqis yield. The Persians were dismayed when the Spartans willingly sacrificed their lives on the battlefield – the US is dismayed when Iraqi citizens willingly detonate themselves in the streets. The Spartans wanted freedom and self-determination – the Iraqis want freedom and self-determination. The Persians refused to allow this – The US refuses to allow this.

I could go on of course if I really believed that such a deep message existed in the movie but ultimately, it is just that - a movie. In fact, a movie based on a comic book. It presents the Spartans in the same surrealistic grandeur as the samurai of medieval Japan are often portrayed. A perfect society filled with perfect warriors. It is surrealistic because just as with the samurai, Spartan society was not perfect and its warriors were not invincible. All warriors, though they may believe they are made of steel, are made of nothing more than flesh and blood. More importantly, there are always those who are less-free who must supply the warrior caste with the fruits of their labor or they will be punished with a sword.

So let go of your cultural arrogance and understand that the concepts of freedom and justice belong to no single culture.

- Just a peasant