Far too often, it is easy to claim that if a specific issue doesn’t affect me, then I needn’t worry myself about it. Compassion has fallen by the wayside in the foregone conclusion that the self is supreme.
The end result? Debilitating isolation.
Consider the fallout. According to the Newport Institute, loneliness peaks between the ages of 18 and 29, which in the past was the age range regarded as the apex of human existence, both physically and relationally. Instead, we are finding that one in every three young adults reports feeling lonely. While certainly Notre Dame presents a fantastic blueprint for building community, whether it is through residential life, clubs, sports or any manner of events on campus, it behooves us to recognize that the Golden Dome exists partly in a vacuum in that regard.
So back to the original point. The phrase “crisis of compassion” has been floated several times to describe the phenomenon of how our empathy for one another is breaking down. A likely culprit is our continual desensitization to catastrophic global events. We are at a point in the history of our globe where we have never been as intertwined as before. With only a few clicks, you can be transported anywhere on Earth to explore just about anything. Yet even though we might expect that we would have a greater understanding of others, and thus, greater empathy for others, the inverse actually happens. We may be startled briefly while scrolling on Instagram at the devastation seen in foreign wars or at the assassination of a political figure, but with one flick of the finger it’s effectively out of our minds. This is not a call to be outraged at every news or social media notification you receive, but rather an ask for consideration, if only in your own locale.
From a Christian perspective, Jesus certainly calls us to reach out to those who are most vulnerable in our community. However, outreach and religion are not mutually exclusive. Seeing others in pain is not a good feeling for anyone, and at the risk of sounding like a hedonist, should we not try to limit our pain and that of others? The world is vast and distinct, and at Notre Dame, a living, diverse reflection of the global community, we should be striving always to make life better for others. Furthermore, we should always feel innately called to uplift each other. We know it is as simple as a compliment or a greeting. Think back to the last time you were complimented, and how great it felt. Who wouldn’t want to spread that feeling to the world?
Yet even still, a common critique in various social circles is, “If I suffered, why shouldn’t you?” This ideology can never stem from any altruistic means, or in a religious context, from any Christian doctrine. In fact, the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross outline this exactly in Constitution 2: Mission, where they state the following, “As disciples of Jesus we stand side by side with all people. Like them we are burdened by the same struggles and beset by the same weaknesses.” We all face hardship in life, but in the 200,000 years of human existence, we know that something revolutionary occurs when we find it in ourselves to stand with each other and love each other.
The great Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin may have put it best:
“Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”
Michael Doyle is a freshman from Haddonfield, New Jersey living in Knott Hall studying computer engineering. When he's not rehearsing his violin for the campus orchestra, he's spending his paycheck at a farmer's market or playing golf. He eagerly awaits any discussion you want to bring forth at mdoyle25@nd.edu.
