Where Does Compassion Live?

Where does compassion live? Are we born with is, or is it something we are taught, or not?

 I am pleased to be part of the #1,000 Voices Speak for Compassion project, and today my post is devoted to that.

“In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”

— by Martin Niemöller, prominent German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor

I grew up in a country where we were inclusive and welcoming, where the harbor where we welcomed immigrants to the USA is graced with the Statue of Liberty, on which is this Emma Lazarus poem:

We seem to have forgotten that almost all of us came from somewhere else, and fled to the USA for freedom from all varieties of miseries, from religious persecution to famine and fear of death and torture. Now that we’re here though we seem not only ready to shut the gates, but to start infringing on the freedoms of our fellow citizens, and if that doesn’t speak to the dearth of compassion I’m not sure what does.

All across America communities are working to keep Muslims from practicing their religion, to keep them out of schools, and prohibit them from building houses of worship. As quickly as this insanity is spreading open-carry laws are too. The collision of this seems inevitable and terrifying.  I worry about the future of a country divided not by political parties, but by compassion, and the lack of it. People are justifying the murder young men, because they are “thugs” our new code word for black, and racism is at the heart of much of the hatred directed at our President.

The United States was formed on the basis of freedom of religion, yet that notion is becoming twisted and perverted by a vocal and loud minority of people. The beliefs they decry, have little to do with the actual teachings of the Bible (old or new testament), the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. These fanatics (for they are fanatical) have systematically omitted the compassion from each if these documents.

I have watched in disbelief as the values of many Americans have been reshaped by fear and ignorance; the enemies of wisdom and compassion. As the nation stays tuned to Sarah Palin and her ilk, with their hate-mongering and ignorance there are others who are listening to different voices of people like Brené Brown, Eve Ensler, and finding that in embracing their own vulnerability they find an endless well of compassion for others. Each time I hear someone hurl a slur at President Obama what I hear is someone mistaking compassion and thoughtfulness for weakness and indecision. As we (Americans) drift farther from our foundations of freedom and compassion we lose those qualities that made America a place people saw as a haven from despots and persecution.

Maybe I am deluding myself by thinking things were different in the past. The USA has quite infamously perpetrated some heinous and decidedly non-compassionate acts over the centuries; slavery, witch burning, refusing and severely limiting Jewish immigration during the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, racial segregation, hate crimes and legislated discrimination against gays and Muslims for example.
Every day I hope things will get better, that events like 1,000 Voices for Compassion will reach a few more people who might stop and consider their position on anything, on even one thing. If one person could read this and think for a moment about their views on someone who is other I’ll believe I have written a successful piece. I will feel like my one voice mattered enough to make a difference. I will feel like my plea for compassion has not reached only the ears if those who share my views.

What does compassion mean to you?