That’s sunset from the last night I spent in Venice.
Previously I mentioned something about thinking that travel might be able to increase someones capacity for empathy.
Homogeneity isn’t intrinsically bad I don’t think, it’s just that you’re never confronted with different realities and different stories. When you’re surrounded by people who have similar stories, similar experiences, and similar beliefs, it’s not bad per se, it’s just that your capacity to enter into and appreciate the experiences and stories of different people has some limitations. It’s easier to have a simpler, more certain, view of the world when your surrounded by the similar. (Diversity doesn’t mean you’re necessarily an empathetic person either, it can go probably go both ways and make you more intolerant. There’s choice involved…)
Even if you’re made aware of things in other parts of the world through words and pictures, it’s still not the same as going there and meeting the people. No matter how well done, media is always filtered through someone else’s lens and choices, and will only represent one perspective.
I think empathy is basically about being able to enter into another person’s story, in all of its messy and real details. (I use the word story because I’m pretty convinced that narratives and identity matter more than facts or reason when it comes to how people live and make choices.)
Traveling provides an opportunity to become acquainted with, and confronted with different stories in a more tangible, personal, and real way. So for example, reading about the Syrian refugee crisis in Greece in the news is one thing. Seeing the whole thing in person is another. At this point I haven’t had a conversation with any Syrian refugees, but I’ve had some conversations with some Greek folks. All the beliefs and knowledge I thought I had about the economic and refugee crisis in Greece that I held prior to coming here just… changes and gains some depth and complexity after being here a bit. You become aware of the limitations of what you can know at a distance. The main thing I guess, and the most important thing… is that the abstract information about a “crisis” gets attached to the faces and stories of people I’ve met…. which is the whole empathy thing I think.
Stunning sunset Joel! And well said.
Thanks Jenn!