J
Jules Asner
Guest
Empathy anyone?
I was talking to a European cousin of mine recently about the Iraq situation. She felt the US should mind its own business with regards to Iraq and that Bush was an idiot. That was her entire stance/argument. I asked her, aside from war, what does she think could be done to help the Iraqi people living under this regime without any basic human rights. I was shocked by her response.
She said "They don't know any better so leave them alone". Her attitude was that since they lived without human rights for so long, they didn't know any better so it was OK to just let it go. I asked her if she had ever imagined what it would be like to live under such circumstances, especially considering she is a woman and is raising a daughter - could she imagine being a woman and raising a daughter in such a place and she responded "No, I haven't and I can't imagine it because I haven't lived in it." I repeated again, "You can't even try to imagine?" and she said, "No." I was shocked given that she was brought up in post-war Western Europe, but then I figured perhaps that was part of her problem and wondered if she was brought up in Eastern Europe would she still have this total lack of empathy. I took into consideration that she never reads, hates reading and is not ashamed to admit she's never read a book from cover to cover and has always used the Cliff Notes for school. Perhaps not reading about other people is why she can't even try to imagine what living in these societies would be like.
Consider if her "They don't know any better, so let them be" attitude was used in other circumstances - slavery for instance - a third generation slave born on a plantation would know no other life and slavery was thought part of 'southern culture' - does that make it acceptable? Should we have left slavery alone because it was part of the culture? Slaves don't know any better so who cares? Of course not. By the by, right now she is living in the US, going to school, has a good job, children healthy and going to good school and is living quite a comfortable worry-free life, 'fat and happy' as they say, while she consistently rails on the US and talks about how horrible it is.
I have no problem with someone being opposed to war, but to have no care for other human suffering and lack of basic human rights is unacceptable to me. I would offer her some literature to read, thinking that perhaps if she read some memoirs of people who have suffered in war or under maniacal dictatorships she might at least feel a tinge of pity for these people, in particular women with children in these societies, but I know she wouldn't read them, so why bother.
Perhaps we could recommend some books to each other to further understanding of each other's struggles and cultures.
Please list some recommendations, if you have any.
Rgirl (the Lit queen) I would especially love any recommendations you have to offer. I can't promise to read them immediately but I will read them eventually ( I currently have a very long reading list and I will put them on the list)
A Peace to End All Peace -- by David Fromkin -- history of the middle east
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 -- by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn -- his memoir of life, and incarceration in soviet Russia.
Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir - a true-story of a family who "disappeared" (were imprisoned) in Morocco for years after their father was assassinated by the government.
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl -- I'm sure most of you heard of this one already and hopefully read it already. A real diary begun just before and during the span of her hiding with family during Nazi occupation of Holland in WWII.
The Hiding Place -- by Corrie Ten Boom -- true story of Christian family who hid and helped Jews in Holland during Nazi occupation.
Princess -- by Jean P. Sasson -- true account of Arabian princess living under Islamic extremist government.
All But My Life -- by Gerda Weissman Klein - a true account of Polish family in WWII
Night -- by Elie Wiesel - another memoir about life in concentration camp.
and a few others:
Angela's Ashes - by Frank McCourt -- a memoir about growing up in poverty. Set in Ireland.
Stones From the River -- by Ursula Hegi -- this gives a non-nazi sympathetic German perspective from inside a German town in WWII.
Broken April -- by Ismail Kadare -- very interesting book about old Albanian culture and the Kanun.
Cry, the Beloved Country - by Alan Paton -- about South Africa and apartheid.
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe -- proof that writing books like this can make a difference -- this book helped bring about the end to slavery.
To Kill a Mockingbird - by Harper Lee - an American classic regarding racism and justice.
1984 and Animal Farm - George Orwell - most of you probably read both, if not I highly recommend.
Now that you are sufficiently depressed... try reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson or A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole - that should cheer you up, I hope.
I was talking to a European cousin of mine recently about the Iraq situation. She felt the US should mind its own business with regards to Iraq and that Bush was an idiot. That was her entire stance/argument. I asked her, aside from war, what does she think could be done to help the Iraqi people living under this regime without any basic human rights. I was shocked by her response.
She said "They don't know any better so leave them alone". Her attitude was that since they lived without human rights for so long, they didn't know any better so it was OK to just let it go. I asked her if she had ever imagined what it would be like to live under such circumstances, especially considering she is a woman and is raising a daughter - could she imagine being a woman and raising a daughter in such a place and she responded "No, I haven't and I can't imagine it because I haven't lived in it." I repeated again, "You can't even try to imagine?" and she said, "No." I was shocked given that she was brought up in post-war Western Europe, but then I figured perhaps that was part of her problem and wondered if she was brought up in Eastern Europe would she still have this total lack of empathy. I took into consideration that she never reads, hates reading and is not ashamed to admit she's never read a book from cover to cover and has always used the Cliff Notes for school. Perhaps not reading about other people is why she can't even try to imagine what living in these societies would be like.
Consider if her "They don't know any better, so let them be" attitude was used in other circumstances - slavery for instance - a third generation slave born on a plantation would know no other life and slavery was thought part of 'southern culture' - does that make it acceptable? Should we have left slavery alone because it was part of the culture? Slaves don't know any better so who cares? Of course not. By the by, right now she is living in the US, going to school, has a good job, children healthy and going to good school and is living quite a comfortable worry-free life, 'fat and happy' as they say, while she consistently rails on the US and talks about how horrible it is.
I have no problem with someone being opposed to war, but to have no care for other human suffering and lack of basic human rights is unacceptable to me. I would offer her some literature to read, thinking that perhaps if she read some memoirs of people who have suffered in war or under maniacal dictatorships she might at least feel a tinge of pity for these people, in particular women with children in these societies, but I know she wouldn't read them, so why bother.
Perhaps we could recommend some books to each other to further understanding of each other's struggles and cultures.
Please list some recommendations, if you have any.
Rgirl (the Lit queen) I would especially love any recommendations you have to offer. I can't promise to read them immediately but I will read them eventually ( I currently have a very long reading list and I will put them on the list)
A Peace to End All Peace -- by David Fromkin -- history of the middle east
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956 -- by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn -- his memoir of life, and incarceration in soviet Russia.
Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir - a true-story of a family who "disappeared" (were imprisoned) in Morocco for years after their father was assassinated by the government.
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl -- I'm sure most of you heard of this one already and hopefully read it already. A real diary begun just before and during the span of her hiding with family during Nazi occupation of Holland in WWII.
The Hiding Place -- by Corrie Ten Boom -- true story of Christian family who hid and helped Jews in Holland during Nazi occupation.
Princess -- by Jean P. Sasson -- true account of Arabian princess living under Islamic extremist government.
All But My Life -- by Gerda Weissman Klein - a true account of Polish family in WWII
Night -- by Elie Wiesel - another memoir about life in concentration camp.
and a few others:
Angela's Ashes - by Frank McCourt -- a memoir about growing up in poverty. Set in Ireland.
Stones From the River -- by Ursula Hegi -- this gives a non-nazi sympathetic German perspective from inside a German town in WWII.
Broken April -- by Ismail Kadare -- very interesting book about old Albanian culture and the Kanun.
Cry, the Beloved Country - by Alan Paton -- about South Africa and apartheid.
Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe -- proof that writing books like this can make a difference -- this book helped bring about the end to slavery.
To Kill a Mockingbird - by Harper Lee - an American classic regarding racism and justice.
1984 and Animal Farm - George Orwell - most of you probably read both, if not I highly recommend.
Now that you are sufficiently depressed... try reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson or A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole - that should cheer you up, I hope.