In defense of empathy and compassion
- Pamela Ruiter -Feenstra
- Nov 4
- 5 min read
In today's blog, we share a few examples of how we grapple with social issues, a central tenet in Healing Bells’ upcoming course, Compose for Change: Healing Arts. This entire course series is rooted in empathy and compassion. In the classes, Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra mentors participants to develop their voices by creating art, researching, and writing about social issues that matter to them.
Transform helplessness into empowerment by clicking the orange button below and signing up for the class! It drops in January.
In her article, "Elon Musk Said Empathy is the West's Weakness. He is Half Right," human rights researcher Cathleen Jeanty responds, "He is half right. Empathy is America's weakness–not because it has too much of it, but because it does not have nearly enough." She argues that the "US is paying for this empathy deficit in social decline." (Inkstick, July 15, 2025). For example, US spending choices reveal values devoid of empathy. Jeanty laments, "Why do American legislators laud a now $1 trillion defense budget in a nation with neither universal child nor health care, no federal parental leave, and underfunded public transportation?" She provides evidence that $40 billion per year would end global food scarcity; $9.6 billion per year would house all people in the U.S. currently suffering housing instability and living in shelters. If only empathy and compassion were the guiding impetus.
empathy = humanity
David French, a self-proclaimed conservative Christian, constitutional attorney, and writer for The New York Times, alerted his readers about the current dangerous right-wing Christian movement that denounces empathy (see his NYT Opinion, Feb. 13, 2025). As evidence, he mentions podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey's book, Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion; and theologian Joe Rigney's book The Sin of Empathy: Compassion and Its Counterfeits. He writes, “Christians are turning on the programs and groups that they helped create. That won’t solve our budget crisis. It won’t end the culture war. It will, however, harm the people Scripture commands us to care for. There is nothing woke about medicine or food.”
Why is this anti-empathy movement gaining momentum among certain right-wing Christians and politicians? As David French points out, it’s incongruent. Opposing empathy flies in the face of the second great commandment–considered the Golden Rule–found in the Old and New Testaments and most major religions: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
The grave impetus for this anti-empathy movement is to dehumanize certain people. Then, there's no remorse in separating children from families, caging humans in inhumane conditions, deporting people to lawless violent countries; targeting Black and Brown bodies for detention, deportation, and incarceration; blatant racism, homo- and trans-phobia, misogyny, sexual harassment and assault; press suppression, book bans, rewriting history to erase enslavement and the Holocaust, militarizing cities under the guise of lowering crime, cutting off foreign aid leaving people to die; ignoring global famines, genocides, and humanitarian crises; subverting due process, and firing government workers who disagree with you.
empathy = humanity
You see, the greatest underlying fear is that if they develop empathy (and yes, it can be learned), they can no longer view others as inhuman and therefore, could no longer perform inhumane acts against those they’ve “otherized.” Instead, they’d be forced to face the sober truth: the untenable conditions that cause forced migration, authoritarianism, humanitarian crises, poverty, homelessness, food scarcity, and lack of healthcare could be their own struggles, given a slightly different spin of the globe. And then, where would they be if no one had empathy and compassion enough to support and care for them?
Let's contrast this fear-based perspective with His Holiness the Dalai Lama's definitions: Empathy is the ability to understand another's suffering. Compassion is responding with action to help free them from suffering. His Holiness devoted his life to teaching about non-violence, democracy, empathy, compassion, interdependence, and meditation. In his book, An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life, the Dalai Lama writes: "At the age of sixteen I lost my freedom [when the Chinese army brutally invaded Tibet], and at twenty-four I lost my country [he was forced to flee to India when Chinese forces prepared to bomb his summer palace]. I have been a refugee for the past forty years, with heavy responsibilities. As I look back, my life has not been easy. However, throughout all these years, I learned about compassion, about caring for others. This mental attitude has brought me inner strength."
"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."
-His Holiness, the Dalai Lama
In our November blogs, we are going to spotlight and send gratitude to wise persons who stand up against violence and dehumanization and speak up in defense of empathy and compassion. These attributes are at the heart of our Compose for Change: Healing Arts class, which drops in January. Sign up now!
FAQs
What is empathy and what is compassion?
Empathy is the ability to understand another’s suffering and see the world through their eyes. It asks us to listen deeply, without judgment, and to respond with compassion. As the Dalai Lama teaches, empathy opens the heart; compassion moves it to action. In Compose for Change: Healing Arts, we explore empathy and compassion as both practice and art—a way to transform awareness into care, and care into change.
How does the rise of narcissism relate to the decline of empathy in society?
The rise of narcissism reflects a deep empathy deficit. As society glorifies self-interest and power, compassion and care decline. Empathy is not weakness, it’s a skill we can nurture through creativity, reflection, and care. In Compose for Change: Healing Arts, we learn to transform that loss into connection, remembering that compassion is the truest form of strength.
How can government decisions reflect humility and empathy instead of power and control?
When government choices are rooted in humility, they acknowledge our shared humanity. Yet, as Cathleen Jeanty notes, U.S. policies often reveal an empathy deficit, funding defense over care, exclusion over belonging. Genuine guidance requires the courage to listen, to serve with compassion rather than dominance. As we explore in Compose for Change: Healing Arts, humility is not weakness; it’s the ground from which empathy and justice can grow.
Can empathy and compassion be learned?
Yes! His Holiness the Dalai Lama has devoted his life to teaching people to practice empathy and compassion. At Healing Bells, every story we tell, each piece of music we compose is rooted in empathy and compassion. To learn empathy and compassion, sign up for our Compose for Change: Healing Arts class!
In next week’s blog, Healing Bells’ web designer and marketing specialist Ayub Elias Jaime flips the traditional view of consumer-capitalistic marketing on its head. Instead, he advocates for inclusive marketing that fosters empathy, compassion, and connection. It drops on Tuesday!
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