tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875687369844272582.post6528879138801390286..comments2023-06-11T03:51:12.872-05:00Comments on Incremental Catastrophe: Andrew Sullivan's favorite novels (are a good measure of his political failures)Benjamin Blattberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03163091516093037765noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875687369844272582.post-85020774315181002762012-01-07T17:51:11.360-06:002012-01-07T17:51:11.360-06:00Gotcha. Sometimes I feel some politically-interes...Gotcha. Sometimes I feel some politically-interested people go in the opposite direction and shut out empathy, but maybe that is just me.Seshetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008776492991385919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875687369844272582.post-42032140432177668912012-01-07T15:58:51.879-06:002012-01-07T15:58:51.879-06:00To be totally honest, this post is a little disjoi...To be totally honest, this post is a little disjointed because it was written while watching TV and thinking about my upcoming show at the Second City (which opened last night). And also because the central point isn't super interesting, I think: it's not just that Sullivan has trouble empathizing with people--because, in many ways, he has trouble seeing the big picture as well (zing!). But, yes, I think I do associate a lack of empathy with a dislike of prose fiction. <br /><br />And yes, I do wish politically-interested people paid attention to empathy-training material, like novels, as I think there's definitely a lack of empathy. (You get David Brooks and Sullivan and even Tom Friedman talking about how we all need to share the sacrifice, but they never really seem to understand how some people have less to sacrifice or what it might mean to experience ongoing hardship.)Benjamin Blattberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03163091516093037765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7875687369844272582.post-31924480068796837912012-01-07T09:12:39.969-06:002012-01-07T09:12:39.969-06:00So basically what you mean is that you feel that e...So basically what you mean is that you feel that empathy would suit a political commentator better because its not enough to look at the big picture of the situation but the smaller picture of the people who make up the situation he is commenting on? <br /><br />This is not really my forte so forgive me if I misunderstand.Seshetahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008776492991385919noreply@blogger.com