Empathy: Readings for Writers

Introduction

What Is Empathy, and Why Do We Need This Book?

Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto.

I am human: nothing human is alien to me.

– Terence (Publius Terentius Afer), c. 195/185–c. 159 BCE

Terence was brought to Rome as a slave and became a playwright after he was freed by his master. Although Terence’s words above express empathy, the word itself would not appear in English until two thousand years later (from the Greek word empathia, meaning in feeling). Whatever its origins, we now understand empathy to mean the act or capacity of experiencing someone else’s feelings.

Empathy is considered a soft skill, but that term masks the power of this important quality. How can we live up to our historic ideals of liberty and justice for all if we cannot understand the lived experiences of people who are not like us? While we have come a long way in the United States — for example, a hundred years ago, women couldn’t vote, and Native Americans didn’t have citizenship — we still have a long way to go toward living up to the ideals expressed in our country’s founding documents.

As discrimination and hatred are currently front-page news, it felt necessary to compile an anthology that gave voice to these different experiences and perspectives. This book is far from perfect, even so, it offers a glimpse of others’ lives that may be unlike our own but that are all part of the human experience. It asks readers to join in feeling with these texts and to expand their idea of what it means to be human.

The current political climate isn’t that unusual in the long view of human history. Tyrants come and go, conflicts flare and fade. But the hard work of coexistence never ends. It is vital that we take up this work, and it is vital that we do it today.

Magdalen Powers

Chemeketa Community College

Alien and Sedition Acts

These laws originated in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. In 1798, Congress passed acts to expand the ability of the government to deport or imprison non-citizens and criminalize certain types of speech against the government. Although neither of these acts are in force today, the sentiments expressed are still relevant to modern political discourse.

An Act Concerning Aliens

Section 1

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States at any time during the continuance of this act, to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect are concerned in any treasonable or secret machinations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States, within such time as shall be expressed in such order, which order shall be served on such alien by delivering him a copy thereof, or leaving the same at his usual abode, and returned to the office of the Secretary of State, by the marshal or other person to whom the same shall be directed. And in case any alien, so ordered to depart, shall be found at large within the United States after the time limited in such order for his departure, and not having obtained a license from the President to reside therein, or having obtained such license shall not have conformed thereto, every such alien shall, on conviction thereof, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and shall never after be admitted to become a citizen of the United States. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that if any alien so ordered to depart shall prove to the satisfaction of the President, by evidence to be taken before such person or persons as the President shall direct, who are for that purpose hereby authorized to administer oaths, that no injury or danger to the United States will arise from suffering such alien to reside therein, the President may grant a license to such alien to remain within the United States for such time as he shall judge proper, and at such place as he may designate. And the President may also require of such alien to enter into a bond to the United States, in such penal sum as he may direct, with one or more sufficient sureties to the satisfaction of the person authorized by the President to take the same, conditioned for the good behavior of such alien during his residence in the United States, and not violating his license, which license the President may revoke, whenever he shall think proper.

Section 2

And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, whenever he may deem it necessary (for the public safety) to order to be removed out of the territory thereof, any alien who may or shall be in prison in pursuance of this act; and to cause to be arrested and sent out of the United States such of those aliens as shall have been ordered to depart therefrom and shall not have obtained a license as aforesaid, in all cases where, in the opinion of the President, the public safety requires a speedy removal. And if any alien so removed or sent out of the United States by the President shall voluntarily return thereto, unless by permission of the President of the United States, such alien on conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned so long as, in the opinion of the President, the public safety may require.

Section 3

And be it further enacted, That every master or commander of any ship or vessel which shall come into any port of the United States after the first day of July next, shall immediately on his arrival make report in writing to the collector or other chief officer of the customs of such port, of all aliens, if any, on board his vessel, specifying their names, age, the place of nativity, the country from which they shall have come, the nation to which they belong and owe allegiance, their occupation and a description of their persons, as far as he shall be informed thereof, and on failure, every such master and commander shall forfeit and pay three hundred dollars, for the payment whereof on default of such master or commander, such vessel shall also be holden, and may by such collector or other officer of the customs be detained. And it shall be the duty of such collector or other officer of the customs, forthwith to transmit to the office of the department of state true copies of all such returns.

Section 4

And be it further enacted, That the circuit and district courts of the United States, shall respectively have cognizance of all crimes and offences against this act. And all marshals and other officers of the United States are required to execute all precepts and orders of the President of the United States issued in pursuance or by virtue of this act.

Section 5

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And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any alien who may be ordered to be removed from the United States, by virtue of this act, to take with him such part of his goods, chattels, or other property, as he may find convenient; and all property left in the United States by any alien, who may be removed, as aforesaid, shall be, and remain subject to his order and disposal, in the same manner as if this act had not been passed.

Section 6

And be it further enacted, That this act shall continue and be in force for and during the term of two years from the passing thereof.

APPROVED, June 25, 1798.

John Adams

President of the United States.

An Act for the Punishment of Certain Crimes Against the United States

Section 1

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That if any persons shall unlawfully combine or conspire together, with intent to oppose any measure or measures of the government of the United States, which are or shall be directed by proper authority, or to impede the operation of any law of the United States, or to intimidate or prevent any person holding a place or office in or under the government of the United States, from undertaking, performing or executing his trust or duty, and if any person or persons, with intent as aforesaid, shall counsel, advise or attempt to procure any insurrection, riot, unlawful assembly, or combination, whether such conspiracy, threatening, counsel, advice, or attempt shall have the proposed effect or not, he or they shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and on conviction, before any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, and by imprisonment during a term not less than six months nor exceeding five years; and further, at the discretion of the court may be holden to find sureties for his good behaviour in such sum, and for such time, as the said court may direct.

Section 2

And be it further enacted, That if any person shall write, print, utter or publish, or shall cause or procure to be written, printed, uttered or published, or shall knowingly and willingly assist or aid in writing, printing, uttering or publishing any false, scandalous and malicious writing or writings against the government of the United States, or either house of the Congress of the United States, or the President of the United States, with intent to defame the said government, or either house of the said Congress, or the said President, or to bring them, or either of them, into contempt or disrepute; or to excite against them, or either or any of them, the hatred of the good people of the United States, or to stir up sedition within the United States, or to excite any unlawful combinations therein, for opposing or resisting any law of the United States, or any act of the President of the United States, done in pursuance of any such law, or of the powers in him vested by the constitution of the United States, or to resist, oppose, or defeat any such law or act, or to aid, encourage or abet any hostile designs of any foreign nation against United States, their people or government, then such person, being thereof convicted before any court of the United States having jurisdiction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not exceeding two years.

Section 3

And be it further enacted and declared, That if any person shall be prosecuted under this act, for the writing or publishing any libel aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the defendant, upon the trial of the cause, to give in evidence in his defence, the truth of the matter contained in publication charged as a libel. And the jury who shall try the cause, shall have a right to determine the law and the fact, under the direction of the court, as in other cases.

Section 4

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And be it further enacted, That this act shall continue and be in force until the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and one, and no longer: Provided, that the expiration of the act shall not prevent or defeat a prosecution and punishment of any offence against the law, during the time it shall be in force.

APPROVED, July 14, 1798

John Adams

President of the United States.

A Letter to My Old Master

Jourdon Anderson

Jourdon Anderson (1825–1907; also sometimes spelled Jordan or Jordon) was born in Tennessee. After living half of his life as a slave, he was freed by US Army troops and resettled in Ohio, where he held various jobs before becoming a church sexton, from 1894 until his death. His letter — a noted example of satirical writing — was first published in the Cincinnati Commercial newspaper in 1865.

Dayton, Ohio

August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

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I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me. I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy — the folks call her Mrs. Anderson — and the children — Milly, Jane, and Grundy — go to school and are learning well. The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher. They go to Sunday school, and Mandy and me attend church regularly. We are kindly treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, Them colored people were slaves down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master. Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.

As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor’s visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams’s Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.

In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an education, and have them form virtuous habits.

Say howdy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me.

From your old servant,

Jourdon Anderson

On Empathy

Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD) was emperor of Rome from 161–180 CE. This excerpt is from Book 11 of his Meditations, a series of personal notebooks not originally intended for publication. In this passage, he references the Muses of Greek mythology, nine goddesses who oversaw the arts and sciences, as he gives advice on how to deal with difficult people.

As for other people’s foolishness or wickedness, make sure it doesn’t trouble or grieve you. If it does, first consider, What is my relation to other people? and that we are all born for the good of each other….

Second, consider what type of people they are, at the table, in their beds, and so on — particularly how they are forced by their opinions to do what they do, and how proud they are of those acts.

Third, if people act according to what’s right, you have no reason to be displeased. If they do not act rightly, they must be doing so against their will and through ignorance. According to the philosopher Plato, no one willingly does wrong. Therefore, people are grieved whenever they hear themselves called unjust, unconscionable, greedy, or are accused of acting wrongly toward their neighbors in any way.

Fourth, you yourself often do things wrong, and so you are human like everyone else. Even if you don’t commit certain faults, you still have the disposition to commit them, although you are restrained because of fear, vanity, or some other ambitious, foolish quality.

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Fifth, consider that you don’t really know whether people are actually doing wrong or not. Many things are done in reference to circumstances, and generally a person must know a great deal about those circumstances to judge another’s actions.

Sixth, when you are upset with someone’s actions, consider that life is short and that it is over quickly.

Seventh, consider that it isn’t people’s actions that disturb you but your own opinions of those actions. Take away your opinions, and your anger is gone. You may ask, How, then, shall I take away these opinions? By reflecting that the action itself hasn’t shamed you. If shame is the only thing that can hurt you, you are sure to do many wrong things — to become a robber and anything else that will allow you to attain your worldly ends.

Eighth, consider how much more pain we feel from the anger and grief caused by someone’s wrongful act than from the act itself.

Ninth, consider that a good disposition is invincible, if it is true and natural and not false or hypocritical. What will the most violent person do to you if you continue to be kind to them, and if, as the opportunity presents itself, you gently teach them to do better? Not so, my child, you will say. Nature made us for something else. I will not be hurt, but you are hurting yourself, my child. Then show that even bees don’t act so poorly, nor do any other creatures that are naturally sociable. And you must do this without any harshness or rancor, but affectionately — not as if you were giving a lecture for the benefit of other people, but as if you were giving the advice to that person alone, even if there are other people around to hear.

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Remember these nine rules as if you had received them from the nine Muses. See that you remember well and begin one day while you are still alive to be truly human. But you must equally remember not to flatter people or be angry at them, for both are uncharitable and lead to harm. And remember these rules even when you are angry, since to be angry is not noble, but to be meek and gentle is to be more human. Whoever possesses these qualities possesses strength, nerves, and courage, while the person who is subject to fits of anger and discontent does not. The nearer the mind is to serenity, the nearer it is to strength. As grief proceeds from weakness, so does anger. For those who yield to pain and anger, both are wounded and both submit.

If you would have a tenth rule, it is this: Do not expect there to be no wicked people in the world, because it is impossible; to allow people to behave badly toward others while expecting them to not do anything wrong to you shows the arrogance of a tyrant.

Sporting Faith

Dewnya Bakri-Bazzi

Dewnya Bakri-Bazzi is a co-founder of AT Law Group in Michigan. She was the first woman to wear a headscarf and play basketball. Sporting Faith first appeared in the 2011 anthology I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim.

You cannot play in the tournament because your uniform does not conform to the rest of your team’s uniform.

I was raised to be a God-loving individual, a person who under no circumstances should replace the Almighty as my number one priority. I would have never imagined this quality would become my biggest obstacle to participating in normal, everyday events in this free country of America.

Along with my strong religious beliefs comes the personal decision to maintain a conservative lifestyle. On a daily basis, I wear a scarf on my head, long-sleeved shirts up to my wrists, and full pants to my ankles. This includes my basketball uniform. I was eight years old when I first put on a scarf, and even though many coaches, referees, teammates, and even fans had a problem with it, I would not change my decision for the world.

Playing sports while wearing hijab is not a distraction or limitation as some may assume. When I played in tournaments and at other schools, however, it was a difficult task to make them understand the concept of the hijab. Many spectators refused to accept it. I would be stared at and talked about, but through it all, I never once thought to myself, Maybe I should not have put a scarf on; maybe others are right, and it was not worth it. Instead, I took their negative attitudes as motivation. At the end of the day, it did not matter what I was wearing if I proved myself on the court. A good performance would in turn gain their respect. So every time I put on my Nikes, I knew I had something to prove. I knew I could not have too many off nights because each one represented a little respect lost — not only for me but for my religion. I was not only representing myself; I was also representing my faith.

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My passion for basketball carried through to my college days at the University of Michigan, where I was a shooting guard for two years. The lack of respect for my uniform that I had experienced from fellow citizens, students, and teammates during the previous twelve years continued and even worsened in college. The coaches became less accepting, the referees became tougher, and the crowd became more hostile.

Although the uniform I had been wearing for several years had been approved by the district board of athletics and the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), I was forbidden by referees to play several games during my college career because of it. This helped me realize two things: 1) while I am being held back because of my religious beliefs, I must not be the only person who is experiencing this; and 2) although our constitution separates church from state and the courts recognize this difference, there are people out there who do not.

Why do you wear that scarf?

Doesn’t it choke you?

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