The analysis I’m not hearing about the 2024 presidential debate that is stunningly striking to me is that Donald J. Trump was asked twice about childcare and twice about the opioid crisis and all four times he actively chose to use his time to defend attacks on himself rather than address these major issues facing millions of American people. It is painfully obvious to me that he only has one constituent that matters to him—his own ego. Trump fails the test of basic empathy and humanity time and again.
Tag: empathy
Malcolm Gladwell speaks with Oprah Winfrey about his new book Talking to Strangers, the one mystery he hopes might be resolved in our lifetimes, and the ways we could all benefit from a little more patience and humility when judging people we don’t know.
A strange chain of events preceded the shoot-down, and people in the intelligence business turned to a rising star in the Defense Intelligence Agency, Ana Montes. Montes was known around Washington as the “Queen of Cuba” for her insights into the Castro regime.
📺 Generous thinking with Kathleen Fitzpatrick | The Future Trends Forum
Bryan Alexander from YouTubeHow can we reimagine higher education? The Future Trends Forum met with Kathleen Fitzpatrick to explore her new book, Generous Thinking.
Kathleen Fitzgerald mentions Data Feminism by Lauren Klein and Catherine D’Ignazio (MIT Press) which they’re doing as open review similar to how she did her prior two books.
Kathleen indicates that she uses a Scrivener based environment for writing.
As I watch portions of this, I can’t help but think that Kathleen Fitzgerald and some of the discussion around her new book Generous Thinking: A Radical Approach to Saving the University might make an intriguing guest on Alan Alda’s Clear + Vivid podcast. Some of her thoughts on listening and empathy are incredibly valuable, particularly as they relate to higher education and even science communication.
👓 Donald Trump: Why US Law Makes It Easy to Stiff Contractors. | Fortune
Fortunately, the practice is not common in business.
I came across this article while thinking about how Trump’s stiffing workers and contractors seemed similar to his handling of the government shutdown.
After reading this, it almost seems to me that with the government shutdown Trump is “selling out his goodwill” in a political sense the same way he’s sold out the goodwill of his own businesses.
Seeing both of these things juxtaposed is another very stark reminder that he seems to have no empathy for anyone at all. This article seems to have called out the same thing long ago.
In practice this [selling out goodwill] rarely happens, for two reasons.
First, most business people, despite what some people think, have integrity, a heart, and a conscience.
[…]
Fortunately, you don’t see that too often. That’s because most business people, like most other Americans, are fundamentally decent people. They believe in, and practice, the Golden Rule.
👓 Linux 4.19-rc4 released, an apology, and a maintainership note | Linus Torvalds
This is my reality. I am not an emotionally empathetic kind of person and that probably doesn't come as a big surprise to anybody. Least of all me. The fact that I then misread people and don't realize (for years) how badly I've judged a situation and contributed to an unprofessional environment is not good.
👓 Power Causes Brain Damage | The Atlantic
How leaders lose mental capacities—most notably for reading other people—that were essential to their rise
This is an impressive thesis and area for research. I’m impressed with their restraint in not making a single mention of Donald Trump here who would be a sterling example, particularly given his background, bullying behavior, and complete lack of any empathy.
👓 What Do Jotted Talking Points Say About Trump’s Empathy? | The New York Times
Consoler in chief has been a role that President Trump has been slow and somewhat reluctant to embrace — especially in contrast to his predecessor.
Interesting that they seemed to actually find someone to indicate that he had a tiny piece of empathy here when all other evidence seems to be to the contrary.