Blogs by Flo Fitzpatrick
Fanaticism and Empathy
9/11/2025 9:04:34 AM
Fanaticism. Empathy. Two words that are diametrically opposed. It’s possibly simplistic to say this, but it seems to me the reason nearly 3000 people died on this day 24 years ago was due to fanaticism and lack of empathy. They go hand in hand. Fanatics generally refuse to acknowledge any viewpoint beyond their own and the idea of stepping inside another’s shoes and seeing the world differently is beyond their comprehension. But worse, fanatics believe only they are right and because everyone else is wrong, everyone else deserves nothing less than death.
I have a confession - I had no idea who Charlie Kirk was before his murder on Sept. 10. I’m sure I’d heard of him at some point, but I figure there are hundreds…thousands…of influential people whose views I disagree with and whose names I don’t feel the need to remember.
Having said that, and after reading a variety of quotes from Mr. Kirk (most of which I found pretty horrifying) the one that felt like a gut punch was his comment regarding “empathy.” In 2022, Mr. Kirk stated, “I can’t stand the word ‘empathy,’ actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new-age term that…does a lot of damage”. From what I’ve read of Mr. Kirk, he professed to be a Christian. the world’s major faiths all stress empathy as one the most important tenets to follow. And I have difficulty trying to understand how a follower of Jesus looks at Matthew 7:12 “Do unto others what you would have them do to you,” and calls that a “new age concept that does a lot of damage.” Actually, I take that back. One hopes it would do a HUGE amount of damage in destroying all the nonsensical, stupid reasons people hate their fellow humans. But, while I completely disagree with Mr. Kirk’s opinion, I can condemn the violence and whatever fanaticism led to his shooting. I can feel sad for his family.
I’m by no means perfect (far from it) when it comes to stepping into another person’s shoes and walking around in them. But I’m working on it. And it’s terrifying and sad to watch our country being torn apart due to fanaticism and lack of empathy.
The horror and pain of September 11th had the unintended consequence of unifying people from all over the political and religious spectrum. For a few days, at least, we put ourselves on those planes, in the towers, in a field in Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
We next took on the pain of losing loved ones into our hearts and our souls.
We felt empathy.
Without it we ARE truly damaged.
Comments (1)
More Blogs by Flo Fitzpatrick
• Commercials and Diversity - Sunday, September 27, 2026
• A Second Remembrance - Saturday, September 12, 2026
• Legacy - Thursday, August 27, 2026
• The Founding Fathers...Good and Bad - Tuesday, August 25, 2026
• The Saga of the Printer - Saturday, August 1, 2026
• What do you want? - Monday, July 20, 2026
• Playing Detective - Tuesday, July 14, 2026
• Mick, Mick, Speak English! - Monday, July 13, 2026
• Bills and Bins - Thursday, July 9, 2026
• Father Joe - Wednesday, July 1, 2026
• Land of Confusion - Tuesday, June 30, 2026
• Do What You Love - Thursday, June 25, 2026
• Crayons and Flight 800 - Monday, June 22, 2026
• Be Kind - Thursday, June 18, 2026
• Words - Tuesday, June 16, 2026
• Pride and the 10 Commandments - Thursday, June 11, 2026
• French Fries and The Full Monty - Wednesday, June 10, 2026
• More scams - Tuesday, June 9, 2026
• Ferris Wheels and Color - Wednesday, May 20, 2026
• The Journey Continues - Thursday, May 7, 2026
• I'm so Confused ! - Thursday, April 30, 2026
• Tales from the Floor, the Hospital/Rehab and Beyond - Sunday, April 26, 2026
• The Oldest, Established, Permanent, Floating, Work-in-Progress in History - Tuesday, March 31, 2026
• Past Time to Fix Things - Sunday, March 22, 2026
• Holding out for a Hero - Thursday, March 19, 2026
• When Fear Wins - Monday, March 16, 2026
• The De-evolution of Humanity - Wednesday, March 11, 2026
• What Do You Want? - Monday, March 9, 2026
• Do No Harm - Thursday, February 26, 2026
• Hope in a crowd of strangers - Sunday, February 22, 2026
• Sweet Cream Ladies and a Valentine's Card - Sunday, February 15, 2026
• No regrets - Friday, February 13, 2026
• Give Peace a Chance - Thursday, February 12, 2026
• Four for Texas - Tuesday, February 10, 2026
• A nation of sociopaths - Thursday, February 5, 2026
• Moondance...When Characters Take Control - Friday, January 30, 2026
• Clansey's Point of View (Moondance) - Friday, January 30, 2026
• The Why - Monday, January 26, 2026
• Frightened for the Children - Thursday, January 22, 2026
• Beauty - Tuesday, January 20, 2026
• Elements of Hate - Sunday, January 18, 2026
• Julio - Wednesday, January 14, 2026
• Reality - Monday, January 12, 2026
• Dancing to Care - Saturday, January 3, 2026
• Jake, L'il Boy, and Houdini - Wednesday, December 31, 2025
• Hope for 2026 - Tuesday, December 30, 2025
• Propaganda and Disinformation - Monday, December 22, 2025
• All I Want for Christmas - Saturday, December 6, 2025
• Illegal Orders - Tuesday, December 2, 2025
• Pick up the Pieces - Reunions and Stevie Nicks - Saturday, November 29, 2025
• Fake Promoters Upping the Game - Tuesday, November 25, 2025
• Scarecrow's Dream: And the Ghost Fell in Love with the Dead Man - Sunday, November 23, 2025
• Cold Wind to Valhalla - Naked Actors and a Minstrel in the Gallery - Sunday, November 16, 2025
• Another Scam - My Author Friends Beware! - Thursday, November 13, 2025
• Legacy of Silence - Spooky Houses and Hot Air Balloons - Saturday, November 8, 2025
• Chia Seeds - Powerhouse Protein! - Thursday, November 6, 2025
• Another Batch of Kolaches and a Pack of Tonys - Sunday, November 2, 2025
• Kolaches and Mozart - Aria in Ice - Tuesday, October 28, 2025
• Great again...WHEN? - Saturday, October 25, 2025
• Sweet Dreams - How They're Made - Friday, October 24, 2025
• In the year 2050 - Wednesday, October 22, 2025
• Deadly Deja Vu - In Time for Halloween! - Tuesday, October 21, 2025
• What is Your Bridge Too Far? - Sunday, October 19, 2025
• The "Making" of Remake the Song - Friday, October 17, 2025
• Paris Nocturne: Inspiration - Saturday, October 11, 2025
• Haunting Melody: Inspiration - Monday, October 6, 2025
• Silence is Unrelenting - Friday, October 3, 2025
• Inspiration: Hot Stuff - Wednesday, October 1, 2025
• Why the Hate? - Saturday, September 27, 2025
• Ghosts, Wandering Here & There: Inspiration - Wednesday, September 24, 2025
• Shall we Dance? - Sunday, September 21, 2025
• Children Should be the Priority - Wednesday, September 17, 2025
• Moronic - Saturday, September 13, 2025
• Alleged - Friday, September 12, 2025
• Fanaticism and Empathy - Thursday, September 11, 2025
• "Review Packages" - Monday, September 8, 2025
• GO VEGAN - Saturday, September 6, 2025
• Creepy- with a Side of Intent - Monday, September 1, 2025
• P.O.S.S. (Perfect Older Sibling Syndrome) - Saturday, August 23, 2025
• Pushing Back On - Monday, August 18, 2025
• From Compromise to Inspiration - Sunday, August 17, 2025
• Ptiching to Authors...A Nearly Daily Annoyance - Saturday, August 16, 2025
• A Discussion of Literary Agents - Friday, August 15, 2025
• Reach Out and "Touch" An Author - Tuesday, August 12, 2025
• Here, There, and Everywhere - Wednesday, August 6, 2025
• Reviewing the Situation - Monday, August 4, 2025
• Music and Movement (In a beach read!) - Sunday, August 3, 2025
• Remake the Song - coming VERY soon! - Saturday, August 2, 2025
• Writers Who Care - Tuesday, December 20, 2011
• A WRiters Work - Monday, December 5, 2011
• Tell Me a Story! - Tuesday, October 25, 2011
• A Gentle Ghost Story - Sunday, October 9, 2011
• I Got a Name - Part Two - Saturday, April 16, 2011
• Self- E and POD versus Trad - Wednesday, March 23, 2011
• More Dialogue Tips for Writers - Friday, March 18, 2011
• How I Spent Spring Break (A Cautionary Tale) - Wednesday, March 16, 2011
• I got a Name - Friday, March 11, 2011
• Want to help name a book? - Tuesday, March 8, 2011
• Spring Break - Break! - Saturday, March 5, 2011
• Dialogue Tips for Writers - Wednesday, February 23, 2011
• Writing Tip - Singing -Keep it OFF the Page - Tuesday, February 15, 2011
• Respect - A Writing Nudge - Friday, February 11, 2011
• To Stupid to Live? Ouch - Wednesday, February 9, 2011
• Writer's Tip - Know Thyself - Tuesday, February 8, 2011
• "Risky" Business - Sunday, February 6, 2011
|
