Compassion?

Goya, Here Comes the Bogey-Man

Are Americans still capable of empathy and compassion? We are responsible for foisting that dimwitted and tyrannical Chaos Demon on ourselves and the world, so, it would seem not. Since 45 was installed, hate crimes have surged. Are these tiny dicked, barbarically heartless agents of malice and malevolence a loud and bellicose minority or is this the new us?

Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a goal to criminally prosecute 100 percent of people crossing the border illegally — including families with children. Those who are charged with improper entry — a misdemeanor on the first infraction — are jailed and separated from their children. Previously, most parents had been allowed to remain with their children in family shelters while awaiting asylum cases or deportation proceedings. (source)

Trump and his Republican party have made hostage taking, terrorism, their official policy.

One death is a tragedy. One million is a statistic. (attributed to Joseph Stalin)

Given that the Mammoth Mango Miscreant and his Republican henchmen are now ripping children from their parents at the border (and then *oopsie* LOSING the wee bairn!), this saying maybe should be amended:

 One stolen and lost child is a tragedy. One million is a statistic.

Compassion is the basis of morality.
~ Arthur Schopenhauer

Got that? If you lack compassion you are immoral. Pay attention here Pencey. I know you see yourself as more principled and piously good than the rest of us. Walk it – talk is cheap and yours is bargain basement.

Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights, panel 3: Hell

A study published in the Journal of Research in Personality sussed out empathy levels by state.

According to this data, the states with the most empathic citizens are Rhode Island, Montana, Vermont, Maine, Oregon, Illinois, North Carolina, Utah, and California. Washington, D.C.—not technically a state, but included in the data—tied with Oregon for fifth place.
The states with the least-empathic residents are Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Indiana, Kansas and Idaho (tied), Iowa, Alaska, and Pennsylvania. (source)

I suppose it should come as no surprise that Indiana made the bottom five. Dense Pence was their governor after all.

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
~ Albert Einstein

Compassion – the ability to walk in another’s flip flops. The lack of which is endemic to humanity.

I’ve had a couple friends who, I feel certain, think of themselves as deeply compassionate souls. They're left of center – that's Empathy Central right? In general, on some level, in many circumstances, maybe these two really are BUT:
One wretch criticized me for how I was mourning The Amazing Bob (without offering assistance of any kind so that I might learn how to grieve in her approved manner).

Another social simpleton/ex-chum slammed me for how, at 46 years of age, I dealt with losing all my hearing (without lending me a time machine so’s I could go back for a do-over that she’d find acceptable).

Peace, love and understanding – WHY is this so damn hard for so many people?

At least, on the Left, we seem capable of ginning up benevolence, consideration and tenderness for strangers if not always for friends and other, assorted loved ones.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
~ Mother Teresa