What Will It Take? maybe empathy

A short while ago (2 million news cycles), and before our latest war, I read that Republican Sen. Mike Bohacek planned to vote against the President’s redistricting policy because the President called Gov. Walz the R-word. (We will pause here so you can recall what the R word is) He doesn't care about Walz, so he isn't defending his pal. The reason is that Sen. Bohacek has a Down Syndrome daughter and was offended by the casual insult intended by the term. Good for him – better late to civilization than non-attendance.

However,…. Really???? This R comment is what it took to get the man’s attention? I like the direction of his vote, but he's just spiteful, not enlightened.

I don’t have a Down Syndrome daughter and I was offended by the tweet. I don’t have a “piggy” daughter and I was offended by the comment on Air Force 1. I don’t have an assaulted daughter and I was offended by past accusations and lawsuits. I was appalled by the “trash” comment against Somalis and am endlessly outraged by the slurs against professional women who all seem to be “ugly inside and out”. I don't have a child in the military and I'm deeply saddened that they are going to die in Iran and other places rather than in expensive US retirement homes.

I’m positive you were also offended by a million attacks in the past, and you did not have to experience each and every one of them to understand the awfulness. After I wrote this post, there were so many more small and large attacks, my head spins.

Back to the first paragraph specifically - WHY did the comment have to touch his daughter before Bohacek had a reaction? What about his neighbor’s daughter or even his worst enemy’s daughter? What is it with us? Why does it have to strike home before we have a genuine, horrified reaction? Why does it seem impossible to feel compassion for anyone other than oneself or a family member?

I really don’t get it. Maybe it's a failure of empathy – that momentary ability to walk in someone else’s shoes. Maybe empathy has gone the way of the dodo bird. I want to ask all these greedy power hungry people: Why does it have to happen to you or your kid before you understand? It's not that complicated. I think that last sentence will be my tagline for 2026. It's not that complicated.

These are a lot of questions for a Tuesday, but it is early, so you have all day to come up with better answers than I have.

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