05 September 2005
The meaning of Empathy
As you read reports of the terrible death, chaos and lawlessness in the Deep South of America, spare a thought for the poor Iraqis who lost loved ones during and following the fall of Saddam Hussein's government. Imagine the scenes of death, chaos and lawlessness but perhaps an order of magnitude greater.
That's what it probably was like for the Iraqi civilians when strange white men armed with fearsome weapons arrived, shooting at anything that looked remotely threatening to them. Men so callous that they even shot parents in front of their young children.
Credit: Getty Images/BBC
Look at the sheer anguish in the face of the little girl crying for her dead parents; while her little brother's face is frozen in sheer terror. Their crime was to be in a car at the wrong time and place; and not complying with an order to stop. But how could they, if they didn't understand English (see an earlier post "Iraq haunts middle America" describing another similar tragedy)? Now, please tell me whether this is the sort of democracy and freedom anyone wants.
Do we not think these little children will be psychologically scarred for life? Why should we be surprised if some of these children eventually grow up and return the favour to those who brought such carnage and tragedy to their young lives?
In New Orleans and in other flood affected regions of the South, the survivors were angry and resentful at being forsaken by Team Neo-Con in their time of greatest need. The disaster came in two parts - natural and man-made. Whereas, in Iraq, the disaster also came in two parts. But both the illegal invasion and the subsequent chaos were man-made by a government of a country that purports to stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What a surprise the "insurgency" lives on in Iraq.
If those who support Bush don't see the irony and deeply shameful contradictions then I'm afraid they don't understand the meaning of Empathy; much less deserve any from the rest of the world over any calamity that befalls them.
That's what it probably was like for the Iraqi civilians when strange white men armed with fearsome weapons arrived, shooting at anything that looked remotely threatening to them. Men so callous that they even shot parents in front of their young children.
Credit: Getty Images/BBC
Look at the sheer anguish in the face of the little girl crying for her dead parents; while her little brother's face is frozen in sheer terror. Their crime was to be in a car at the wrong time and place; and not complying with an order to stop. But how could they, if they didn't understand English (see an earlier post "Iraq haunts middle America" describing another similar tragedy)? Now, please tell me whether this is the sort of democracy and freedom anyone wants.
Do we not think these little children will be psychologically scarred for life? Why should we be surprised if some of these children eventually grow up and return the favour to those who brought such carnage and tragedy to their young lives?
In New Orleans and in other flood affected regions of the South, the survivors were angry and resentful at being forsaken by Team Neo-Con in their time of greatest need. The disaster came in two parts - natural and man-made. Whereas, in Iraq, the disaster also came in two parts. But both the illegal invasion and the subsequent chaos were man-made by a government of a country that purports to stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What a surprise the "insurgency" lives on in Iraq.
If those who support Bush don't see the irony and deeply shameful contradictions then I'm afraid they don't understand the meaning of Empathy; much less deserve any from the rest of the world over any calamity that befalls them.
