Have you heard the new buzz word in the news— “suicidal empathy”?
It’s being applied to social and economic conditions and more recently to America’s immigration policies.
“Suicidal empathy” is an apt term for what’s gone wrong with everything from our welfare system to our Christmas celebrations.
Suicide is self-murder. Empathy is a little stronger word than sympathy, meaning that you have moved beyond feeling for someone’s pain to feeling as if you were that someone suffering the pain.
Psychologists describe suicidal empathy as “the point at which our desire to help others begins to harm us”and “where our natural compassion becomes self-destructive.”
In extreme cases, we are being manipulated by those we’ve chosen to help who actually have a goal of harming us; our “help” enables them to do so.
Even listening to people talk about Christmas this year, I’ve heard examples of suicidal empathy — in what should be a joyous time! I’m hearing stories of gift-givers who have spent so much trying to make everyone’s dreams come true that they’ve gotten themselves in serious debt that will prevent them from being able to meet their own basic expenses next year.
They’re terrified of the next credit card bill! But they must give everyone all they want, right? It’s Christmas, and we’re obligated to make everyone happy, aren’t we?
In some situations, I think some of the gift recipients are manipulating the giver. Realizing that the giver feels required to make everyone happy, the receiver ups his request. “Forget the set of golf clubs you were going to give me, how ‘bout a new car?”
This unhappy holiday situation is playing out in a much more dangerous way nationally, where “suicidal empathy” refers to policies and attitudes that prioritize other’s needs to the point of our own self-harm.
Look at what’s happening in immigration. Make no mistake, we are hurting ourselves in our compulsion to help all the foreigners who have come into our country, sometimes with the object of destroying us.
Immigration is not a bad policy in itself. Most of us are descendents of immigrants who came here to be Americans and work for a better life. Such people are still coming and I’m glad.
But the Democrats’ immigration policy has opened the door to floods of groups who are coming here with the purpose of ruining America instead of becoming part of it.
Yet we have provided them with free hotel rooms, cellphones, education, drivers’ licenses even if they can’t read, and the right to vote. We entitle them to receive benefits, make their own laws, elect their own representatives and create independent colonies, such as the Somalies have done in Minnesota. They, in turn, bilked their gracious new government out of millions of dollars.
Why do we make ourselves so vulnerable to those who want to harm us? We’re impoverishing ourselves in the vain attempt to make certain groups happy who will only be happy when they have destroyed the advantages of living here and recreated their own failing countries on our land.
Americans are especially subject to suicidal empathy because we are a wealthy nation with vast resources. Particularly in this century, we’ve been led by the political and social left to develop a national sense of guilt and shame over our privileges and our accomplishments and the inequalities those benefits supposedly create.
We feel we must elevate all newcomers to the same advantages and freedoms we have, even if they are criminals. Don’t prosecute criminals— it would hurt their self-esteem! Let them shoot Americans and bring in their fentynal to kill our young. No one must work for a better life or suffer consequences here! With 22 percent of Americans on welfare, you have to extend benefits to immigrants too! Otherwise, it’s not fair!
So, though we know nothing about the motives of these immigrants, many illegal, that we’ve let into our country, we have provided millions of them with free hotel rooms and other housing, cellphones, education, drivers’ licenses even if they can’t read, and the right to vote.
Americans have been very naive about immmigration and the difference between helping and enabling people. We have assumed that everyone must prosper equally. We have assumed that everyone who comes here is ,doing so for freedom and a new life.
In a way that’s true: many have come for the freedom to change our country into what they want and a new life that doesn’t include us—at our expense!
Perhaps you heard about the Muslim leader who came here and objected to our celebration of Christmas? The fact that he felt free to voice that opinion tells you how far our guilt-ridden empathy has progressed.
Hopefully we will come to our senses as more of the results of our compulsive enabling are exposed. Otherwise, Santa may not be able to afford to come to see any of us next year.
Or, in our suicidal empathy, we may have to ban Christmas completely to keep from offending some of our sensitive newcomers who might go home if we make them mad.
