Empathy has become a quality that so many people claim to have, but very few actually comprehend. It’s not about understanding the emotional burdens of the downtrodden — that’s easy. One does not have to be empathetic to feel a sorrowful connection to a starving orphan in Uganda. That only means you’re not an asshole… great, but not special. Real empathy is about being able to identify with the feelings of everyone, which is really hard. It’s about granting legitimacy and validity to those that don’t seem to deserve it. The medical industry gets this. A very lovely nurse once explained to me that rule #1 of the healthcare business is that you just can’t tell a patient that they’re overreacting. Whatever pain or anxiety they’re feeling is completely real to them, even if it appears routine or unsubstantial to you. Thus, doctors and nurses everywhere are patiently nodding their heads, taking as much complaining and abuse as they can, and doing their best to mitigate suffering and find solutions. If there’s a better metaphor for true empathy in a broader sense, I can’t think of it. So extrapolate that idea into everyday life. For me, and I hate to say this, but I often find myself feeling surrounded by idiots. Watching television, stuck in traffic, waiting in lines, on the internet… surrounded, everywhere. I’m working on that nasty disposition, and part of that is acknowledging that I have no idea what compels people to be who they are, and even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. Their feelings and beliefs might be ridiculous and misguided, in my opinion, but they remain a simple product of life experiences, random biological happenings, relationships, education, and so on — just like you and me. So who is more real?...