I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I’m A Liberal I’ll let you in on another secret. The definition of a liberal is: Someone who can’t be happy until everyone is happy Another way of saying that is that I am a lifelong guy for the underdog and I simply gush empathy in almost everything I do. I can’t help it, it … Continue reading About The “L” Word
These next two post in the series will probably be the most difficult to write. But they were also the time I came across the most empathic person I have ever known. I finished off the last post on this End-Of-Life Trauma series by telling you that my wife was being kicked out of the Hospice House because she was not dying fast enough. Of … Continue reading End of Life Trauma Part 8 – Hospice (continued)
Part of my Aspie traits is that I take things much more personally than most. I have a lot of empathy, but it seems it takes a form that is different from most folks. I see someone’s personal hardships and immediately envision myself in that situation. In other words, I take on other’s problems as if they were my own. What does this have to … Continue reading Premonitions
I think it is time for another Aspie lesson on RJsCorner. This one is a very basic question Are Aspies Narcissists? One Aspie characteristic that I have in spades is I take things much more personally than NTs. I should probably stop here and explain NT. Those with Aspergers are considered more “neurodiverse” than much of the general population. To signal that difference people without … Continue reading About Aspies & Narcissism?
I believe we are all born with an empty heart and some of us fail to even begin filling it during our lives. There is nothing more tragic than an aged person with an empty heart. A person who feels no kinship with others, a person like Ayn Rand, who feels that empathy is a scourge of mankind. Most of us, but certainly not of … Continue reading With An Empty Heart…
I am often a contrarian when it comes to views of today’s world, so for this my 74th birthday I want to post a view of America that I still believe in. Maybe I believe in an America that no longer exists, but I refuse to believe that where we are now is a long term thing. My America is not one of hate, or … Continue reading I Believe In A Different America
As usual David Brooks of the New York Times and PBS Newshour spurred this post by his words below This is a hard, exhausting time. But it’s also a pivot point. An idealistic generation is rising on the scene hungering to fill the spiritual vacuum their parents left them. There is a palpable desire for solidarity, to shake off an excessively individualistic culture. For those … Continue reading Excessive Individualistic Culture?
Why are we as a country, and maybe even a world, so split between empathy and apathy? Why is the chasm so deep between us in that regard? To me empathy is what Jesus came to teach us. He said in no uncertain terms that we are to be our brother’s keeper. To give anyone who needs it the shirt off our back. Then apathy … Continue reading Empathy vs Apathy
Because of my Aspie traits I have lived a good portion of my life feeling I am alone in this world. No one else seemed to see the world as I did. So, when in college in the 1960s I came across the words
I am a rock I am an island ... And a rock feels no pain An island doesn't cry.Continue reading “I Am A Rock, I Am An Island, I Am An Altruist”
I’ve been thinking about what I will leave as my legacy. Everyone wants to believe that they left this world a little better off because they were here. That is what this post is all about.
Continue reading “Everyone Should Have A Place At The Table”I am convinced that, as a general rule, my Republican friends pretty much lack empathy to any degree. I know this could be “painting with a broad brush” type thing but hear me out. I find example after example of this fact in my daily life. Let me give you a few examples. I have a Republican friend who goes on and on about how … Continue reading About Empathy
This post has been sitting in my “draft” box for quite some time because I just don’t seem to see it as complete. I don’t want to insult people who think differently on this subject but I want to get my point across as to the potential harm being privileged might cause. Complete or not its time has come to move it to a daily … Continue reading A Free Ride vs. Earning Your Way
I am a dreamer, always have been and always will be. When times are bad I dream of better times. When times are good I thank the Lord. I have always dreamed that every citizen of our country has at least an ounce of empathy and two ounces of brains. I have come to doubt that belief, especially since the person in the Oval Office … Continue reading An Ounce Of Empathy & Two Ounces Of Brains
A good portion of my life was spent around someone who lived in a world of pretend. My mother was that person. She abandoned me, my brother, and her husband when I was about ten years old to marry someone much richer who could provide her with the luxuries she so wanted in life. I would not have any sort of relationship with her again … Continue reading The World of Pretend…
That is the moral-ideological core of conservatism today. It presumes that life is a competition or race, that people are unequal in talent, drive, and ambition, and that those who end up on top deserve their victory and rewards — and those who come out on the bottom deserve their failure and hardships. Any attempt to overturn or even mitigate this moral order — whether … Continue reading They Deserve Their Failure….
I want to pen some final words about Pope Francis here. The title of this post is a recent quote from him that truly inspires me. There are just too many people in the world to who the very idea of hope seems unknowable. They live in such despair that all they can manage is just surviving day-to-day. It is said that Pope Francis views the … Continue reading Living On The Outskirts Of Hope…
Your Holiness, in your words and deeds, you set a profound moral example. And in these gentle but firm reminders of our obligations to God and to one another, you are shaking us out of complacency. All of us may, at times, experience discomfort when we contemplate the distance between how we lead our daily lives and what we know to be true and right. … Continue reading President Obama’s welcoming speech to Pope Francis
Some of us seem to totally lack empathy for others. Sadly the lack of empathy seems to be almost a requirement for GOP candidates these days. I know Paul Ryan who is one of the heroes on the Republican party celebrates his common bonds with his hero Ayn Rand who made it very clear that to her empathy is a severe handicap in society rather … Continue reading Empathy Is Imagining Yourself In Someone Else’s Shoes…
With this post I will conclude my discussion about what might make the wealthy among us seem so callous to others needs. The source for these posts came as a surprise to me. Here is some more quotes from that article. A UCLA neuroscientist named Keely Muscatell has published an interesting paper showing that wealth quiets the nerves in the brain associated with empathy: If … Continue reading What Wealth Does To Your Soul – Part 2
One thing that has struck me and so many others as a very deadly thing to our country is the growing disparity between the rich and the poor. Another is how many in the rich category seem to be uncaring and even callous to those who don’t have the luxury that they have. That fact struck me at a personal level when we were recently … Continue reading What wealth does to your soul
This is going to be an extremely soul-searching post for me. It has been a week since the GOP route in the mid-term elections and I have been thinking about my philosophical and political leanings. Two things seem now apparent to me that were not so just a few short months ago. The first epiphany is that I am not so much a Democrat as I am anti-Republican. … Continue reading I Can't Do It For Them….
On my self description to the right here I claim to be a passionate altruist. I want to expand on that statement and also ponder those who seem to have an opposite view of the world. First let’s look at a couple of definitions: Altruism — the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others Empathy — understanding and entering into another’s feelings These two … Continue reading It’s All About Empathy….
For some unknown reason I have always been fascinated by group pictures such as shown in my revised header above and a larger copy here. I love looking at each individual face and trying to imagine their life story. In studying local history such as from the picture above I have come to understand just how hard previous generations have it compared to ours. It … Continue reading Group Pictures…
I have spent the better part of a week looking at the new vice presidential candidate for the GOP. Up until now I was not familiar with him other than superficially. This will be the last post in this area so I am going to try to summarize what I have learned about the man. Paul Ryan is definitely a passionate person who is true … Continue reading The Two Faces of Paul Ryan….
It looks like it is going to take a few weeks before I can adequately start my parallel study of the Roman Empire and the beginnings of the Christian Church. I want to at least know enough about the Roman Empire that I can make some worthy analogies. So, in the mean time I am going to be doing some “Asides”. These are posts that … Continue reading Aside — About Responsibilities…..
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