Empathy Tonya Miller

English Comp II
Tamera Davis
Empathy – A Superpower, Not A Burden

Empathy is the gateway to understanding the actions and emotions of others. Humans

have the ability to listen and observe the way others act and can either use empathy to understand

or judgement to remain ignorant. Taking the time to understand people by using empathy

improves our ability to coexist with others without unnecessary conflict. An example of this is

feeling the same emotions a friend feels after they had a horrible day. By considering their

feelings, better advice can be given. Empathy plays a big role in our world and by taking the

small amount of time to try and understand each other, while also restricting the negative effects

technology has, the ability to live peacefully among others is very possible.

Peace is something that many strive for. Whether it is within a family, work site, or

community, peace is a wonderful feeling. Empathy creates the opportunity for peace.

Understanding why someone is feeling the way they do can give a person a better stance at

calming the situation. When a person is feeling a strong emotion of sadness, anger, or even

happiness, it can be confusing to others as to why. Empathy is the doorway that allows the

understanding of why they feel that way. It also helps others feel better about any situation they

are in because someone is trying to understand their way of thinking. To illustrate, an angry

person may become more understanding of the situation that angered them or a joyful person

may increase the joy in others because of their viewpoint. Marcus Brotherton explains in his blog

that after several years, he became the neighbor that he annoyed during his break from college.

He believed years before that his neighbor was “spoiling [their] good time”. The truth was that if

he had tried to understand his neighbor’s way of thinking, then he might have found the truth.

Empathy creates the opportunity for understanding and can thus create a better environment.
Empathy Tonya Miller
English Comp II
Tamera Davis
Understanding is the key to creating an empathetic way of life. For instance, some may

say that it takes years to become empathetic to our world, but really it only takes a moment to

begin the process. In his blog, Marcus Brotherton also asks the question of “how does someone

become a good neighbor”. A good neighbor must be empathetic to the neighbors around them to

create a peaceful environment. For instance, if one neighbor turns their music volume up to a

maximum level, they should think about how that might affect the neighbors around them.

Maybe one house has a baby that is sleeping and the music wakes them up in a fright. The

parents would be angry and could only think about calming their child and how to get revenge on

the neighbor that caused the noise. All of this could have been avoided with just a moment of

thought. Instead, when we become selfish and stubborn, we lack all ability to be empathetic to

the world around us.

Incidentally, technology also plays a role in how we perceive things around us. Many

times, the role it plays is a negative one because of all the different outlets to voice an opinion.

Empathy is very difficult to come by when the only thoughts that are being read are negative

ones. People fight more easily on the internet because there is an idea of being safe. Because of

this fact, people hide behind their words on the internet and instead of trying to understand one

another, they can argue and say horrible things to one another.

Empathy is a wonderful tool if used correctly. People are able to look at situations

through new eyes and consider how it may affect others. While some believe that learning this

ability may take years, the truth is that it is very easy to accomplish. One moment is all it takes to

see through a new perspective. In this small moment, a person is able to understand a situation

better and create a better scenario through it, but we must be careful not to let technology

dampen our ideas.

Empathy Tonya Miller
English Comp II
Tamera Davis
Works Cited

Brotherton, Marcus. “Being a Good Neighbor.” The Art of Manliness, 27 Nov. 2017,
www.artofmanliness.com/2013/05/23/on-being-neighborly/.