What Would It Take to See the Humanity in Each Other?
An Empath’s Urgent Search for Answers
DOCUMERICA, John H. White. Via Public Domain Review
Lately, I’ve been wrestling with a persistent question: What would it take for us, as humans, to truly see the humanity in one another? What would it take for someone to pause and genuinely listen—without judgment or fear? Ego is a barrier that stifles our ability to see the shared humanity in one another, while fear often becomes the root of hate. What’s crippling this country daily is our tendency to center our own narrow narratives of existence, especially when only a collective consciousness can save us from ourselves. Often, it’s our ego and our refusal to look beyond our immediate needs, desires, and survival that breeds contempt for others. We act as if there isn’t enough humanity to go around, as if granting human dignity to someone else poses an existential threat to our own survival.
Would it be easier if we knew each other’s names, if we learned the stories behind our faces? If we shared a meal or discovered family recipes handed down through generations, would that help us recognize one another as fully human? Would overhearing a playful exchange between two loving adults remind us that they, too, experience love, laughter, and the same everyday joys that we do—even if their partnership is considered “untraditional”?
Really, what would it take? What would you need to encounter to recognize a child’s humanity? What would you need to see or hear to truly empathize with the reality that innocent children—who could just as easily have been your own child’s playmates—do not deserve to be starved, bombed, or shot in the head over a bag of rice? What will convince you that someone you don’t know is worthy of all that life has to offer: love, joy, peace, laughter, intimacy, and rest? What makes you think you are more deserving? What have you done, what have you endured, what have you sacrificed to be worthy of love, joy, peace, laughter, intimacy, and rest? What sweat equity have you paid? If you can’t answer that for yourself, then how can you deny these things to others? And that’s the entire point. When hate blinds you, you lose sight of what truly matters—you forget how deeply interdependent we all are. You blame others for problems created by massive corporations, greed, and capitalism. You misdirect your anger toward the person you believe is taking something from you, when in fact, it’s your frustration with the conditions capitalism has created: unaffordable healthcare, soaring grocery prices, and housing insecurity—challenges tied to the struggle of making a living wage.
Think about the crossing guard who ensures your child gets safely from one corner to the schoolhouse, or the farm worker who picks the produce that conveniently ends up on the shelves of your overpriced supermarket. Our lives are inextricably intertwined, whether we choose to see it or not.
When we turn to hate, indifference, or apathy toward another’s humanity, we lose something essential within ourselves. We sever the sacred, invisible bond that connects us all to one another and to the earth; in doing so, we become a little less human, too. When we close ourselves off to this connection, we shut ourselves out from the beauty, wonder, and joy of the human experience. Humans are communal by nature; we should be compelled to protect and support one another. Yet, every day, we fall short. Every day, I witness people harboring hatred toward others who have done nothing to harm them—who have done nothing to deserve such indifference to their humanity. Whether it’s because someone was born on the other side of the planet or simply has a different identity than what society deems “normal,” the injustice of it all is something my mind can’t reconcile. It leaves me feeling endlessly weary, restless, and yes, angry.
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