Saturday, June 29, 2013

What We Lack

"I've been fascinated by the idea that evil is the absence of empathy" - John Connolly

After DOMA was struck down earlier last week, I couldn't help myself but turn to Twitter and other corners of the internet to see the reaction; namely, the reaction of the religious right. I'm not above enjoying in the flappy-headed, nonsensical schadenfreude which could illuminate the night skies over Siberia whenever yet another example of a long-settled culture war over a slew of social issues takes place. An array of pastors and other religious leaders, including a few politicians, didn't disappoint as the oft-repeated, always incredulous claims of "slippery slopes" leading to men marrying turtles and some utopia of rampant, schoolhouse sodomizing while everyone listens to The Culture Club were filling the pages everywhere I read. Usually, such exaggerated, vile remarks disgust me to no end; yet in light of the Supreme Court decision, combined with the ever-growing realization that the club of hard-line social conservatives only grows smaller as it becomes more frenetic, I could only smile.

I'm no more of a "gay rights advocate" as I am a "tree frog advocate" or "if a guy wants to spend a Friday night masturbating to Golden Girls reruns, let him - advocate". The concept of enacting a strict moral code over otherwise legal, consenting adults is something I will never wrap my head around, and speaking as an individual whose level of spirituality registers a "null" grade, spare me any biblical quotes since they mean squat dick and balls to me. 

The only measure of a working, functioning society that I honestly want to see is one that truly embodies empathy for those who live their lives in sometimes vastly different ways from our own without hurting or otherwise prohibiting the free will of others. Full stop. I've spoken before (sometimes at length) about particular issues, but the underlying, wanton desire of the world, or at least community I wish to be a part of, is wrapped with a bow-tie in the above sentence. When someone truly understands empathy, their view of fellow humanity and of the world around them softens. With empathy, the need for shrill polemic in our political discourse vanishes, and as goes with it a myriad of other problems we humans run into with each other.

I'm a flawed human being, and I'd be surprised if I could go a full day without at some point committing one of the seven deadly sins. Yet, at the end the day, I want everyone to find their happiness, and I only hope you wish the same for me.