Last week, someone I follow on Instagram made a post outside of his normal content. I'm not going to name names. This person is semi-famous, and I'm willing to bet that some of you may even know who he is, but I've been a fan of what he does for years and have even talked to him about it a little bit. The post said something about how the country had lost its empathy.
Initially, I agreed. More specifically, I feel like many of us have developed a total disregard for human life. I even wrote something similar in December when people were cheering on Luigi Mangione for committing murder. But I didn't necessarily see that as a partisan thing, just a people thing. I see people on both sides of the political aisle who seem to forget how to treat each other like human beings. I don't automatically jump to conclusions about people because they voted for this one or that one.
But the person who made that post added a little slide show to his words, and I soon realized that he was being extremely partisan. Or trying to....The majority of the posts were about the contributions Mexican people — think nurses, etc. — make to our society. Not only was it partisan, but it was also stupid and inaccurate. Enforcing immigration laws has literally nothing to do with with Mexican people. It's about law-breaking individuals from all over the world.
I don't typically "unfriend" people over politics in real life or on social media or anywhere in between. But I have had enough. I am sick and tired of people on the left accusing me of not having any empathy and whatever other ignorant lies they like to spew just because they lost an election and are now faced with a government that seems to be shaping up to do exactly what it's designed to do and nothing more.
These people who resort to name-calling and making these accusations are truly the ones without any empathy. They don't even want to try to understand why the majority of the country doesn't agree with them on many things. They don't even want to try to truly help the people they feel so sorry for.
They say we don't like "trans" and "queer" people because we don't support children mutilating their bodies and have concerns about grooming and indoctrination. Where is their empathy for innocent children?
They say we don't like immigrants because we want a secure border for the sake of national security. Where is their empathy for immigrants who put in the work to come here legally or the people who fall prey to sex trafficking and other crimes or the people who live in Mexico and Central America whose own lives are put in danger because of our open borders?
They say we are heartless because we're tired of living paycheck to paycheck while our tax dollars are funding things in other countries that have zero to do with us. Where is their empathy for the family struggling to put food on the table or pay their power bill?
They say we don't want women to have control over their own bodies when all we want is for every child to get a chance at life. Where is their empathy for every little life that never got to see the light of day?
They say we don't care about the environment when we favor taking care of the people who are on this planet right now rather than removing jobs and food sources. Where is their empathy for the impact their environmental regulations have on poor communities that are often affected disproportionately?
I could go on, but you get the idea. And it's not just about empathy; it's about action it inspires, too. Just thinking about the handful of people I know, the conservatives tend to be far more empathetic and sympathetic and charitable than the liberals. I've seen some of the most far-right, Trump-loving, Limbaugh-listening people in my life give up countless hours and dollars to help some of the most downtrodden people — people in jail, the homeless, the elderly, the mentally ill, people in undeveloped countries, and yes, even illegal immigrants. I could write an article on that alone.
On the other hand, many of the liberal people I know just like to march, shout, and organize and talk about their own perceived victimization. Countless studies have even shown that conservatives are "significantly" more giving.
I'll admit something that I haven't here before. One of our editors, Chris Queen, had been trying to get me to write for PJ Media for quite some time. He and I have been friends for years, and we've worked together on many projects. I actually started my writing career working in news and politics before I switched gears. Every time he suggested it, though, I had the same response: I just want to keep my head down and stay out of politics.
Honestly, one of the main reasons I turned him down was that I was worried that I would lose friends and acquaintances. I have friends and family across the political spectrum, and I've learned the art of shutting up and not sharing my opinions over the last seven or eight years just to keep the peace. I didn't want to create any kind of disturbances in those relationships or even thwart any future opportunities.
But I've had enough of that as well. The older I get, the less I care what people think of me. I guess that's one the more beautiful things about aging.
And it has cost me. I started writing here around Halloween, just before the 2024 election. I was hesitant about sharing the details with people I know at first, and when I finally did, I faced everything from people telling me how stupid I am to some who just stopped talking to me at all. Initially, it did bother me, but what's that saying? "You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time." At the end of the day, I don't care if I please anyone at all anymore.
I know who I am. I know what I stand for. I know that I voted for Donald Trump this year. I know that I crave a smaller government, am unapologetically pro-life from conception to death, and believe in individual freedom. I know I believe in helping others when they're down by teaching them to fish, and if they're truly too weak to fish, then I believe in bringing them a fish dinner to help them survive and thrive and have done so more times than I could count. I also know that I have so much empathy for others that it can be paralyzing at times. And most importantly, I know that I don't need to prove it to anyone else. It's between me and God.
If you have a problem with that, well, that kind of shows me that you're the one who lacks the ability understand someone else's perspective, not me. So, don't virtue-signal to me about empathy until you've taken a long hard look at your own life.
