Desmond Tutu once said: “My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” This statement implies the connection that humans have to one another. It implies that to be human you must not only be present in the experiences of your life, but also in the experiences of the lives of others.
In light of the recent mass shooting that occurred in Orlando, I’ve been reminded of the importance of compassion and empathy. These are emotional skills that allow us to connect with other human beings, though they are often overlooked. At its source, compassion is the merely ability to look past personal beliefs and prejudice in order to support others through times of grief, sorrow, and change.
Take this devastating event, for example, as an opportunity to practice these skills. Just for a moment, put aside the fact that the target of the shooting was a gay club and that many victims of this crime were most likely a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Simply imagine that you had to fear being harmed due to an inalterable aspect of your being and what that sort of fear would do to your spirit.
America is at yet another crossroads moment, and our reaction to this tragic event will set a precedent for how this nation responds to senseless violence. One option is to let this divide the country even further on trivial issues that boil down to mere differences in belief and hateful biases.
The other choice is to think with empathy before acting. Remove personal motives, consider how your actions affect the lives of other human beings and how you would feel if this action was done unto you. Make a conscious effort to implement compassion into all that you say and do.
Too many lives have been needlessly taken and touched by devastation due to events such as these. At heart, we are all human and the degradation of any human being based on superficial differences is an act against nature. We cannot succeed as a nation until we become successful human beings, and to be successful human beings we must stress the importance of compassion and empathy.