Feeling for the Boundaries of Empathy

What does it take to accept that someone we are truly at odds with is a human, just like us?

Photo by Ben Michel on Unsplash

Those following the news may be aware that our nation’s capitol is, for lack of a better description, under military occupation. Or, viewed through the looking glass, between 2000-2300 National Guard troops have been deployed to Washington DC as part of a “DC Safe and Beautiful” mission. Whether your news source is Fox or Mother Jones, however, the deployment is at best an unusual action for unusual times - or much worse, emblematic of a sprint toward authoritarianism. While it’s not unheard of, even in progressive Europe, for members of the military to support local law enforcement - in France, the National Gendarmerie, part of the French Armed Forces, handles part of national policing - in the United States both tradition and the legislation including the Posse Comitatus Act make it unusual - and usually unlawful - to use the military in this way.

Last weekend, my husband and I were in DC for a concert on the Wharf, a once quiet area that has, over the …