A call for empathy in politics

I’ve spent this semester in Washington, D.C., and I have to say it’s been an amazing experience.

I have an internship, take classes and have had the opportunity to meet students from across the country who are just as obsessed with politics as I am.

When talking with people, my Midwest origins do not often come up in the discussion.
However, my Hoosier roots did spark more exciting conversations last week.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about Republican State Treasurer Richard Mourdock’s response during a debate last week when asked about his position about abortion in the case of rape.

Here’s how he responded: “I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”

I think it is safe to assume that Mourdock did not mean that the act of rape is something God intends to happen, because it is a terrible and violent crime that goes against everything I learned during my 12 years of Catholic school and what any other human being with a brain and a conscience has learned in life.

However, it was extremely revealing in one important sense as he approached this sensitive, emotionally charged issue with no sense of empathy for rape victims.
A few of his fellow Republicans have been just as not eloquent.

Let us not forget Rep. Todd Akin’s, R-Mo., “legitimate rape” debacle, and Wisconsin state lawmaker Roger Rivard stating that “some girls rape easy.”

Politicians have been using rape as a cheap talking point to score with their constituents when talking about abortion and religion, and it needs to stop.
The word is thrown around with such lightness that people forget that it’s one of the most heinous crimes someone could commit.

Unfortunately, the use of sensitive and emotionally charged issues as talking points for politicians is not exclusive to rape.

The same is done in our national discussions surrounding undocumented immigrants, welfare recipients, minorities, and many other groups.

Politicians are making extremely important decisions about the fate of our country and the fates of the millions of diverse people who live in it.

This makes zero sense for them to do so without even attempting to understand the true human impact of their decisions.

I invite you all to be better than our politicians and the talking heads in the media. Before you talk about anything controversial, take a few seconds to think about the lives and victims behind the issue. Put a human face on things, instead of just throwing around buzzwords and pet issues.

Don’t use words and ideas without understanding that there are always human consequences to what you say.

After all, you don’t want to end up becoming the next Mourdock, coming up in conversations across the country for all the wrong
reasons.

­— sydhoffe@indiana.edu