Trump’s Islamophobic comments aside, the important part of this narrative was Khizr Khan’s passionate assertion that the Republican nominee was devoid of empathy: empathy for veterans, empathy for the families of troops killed in combat, and empathy for the Vietnam Veteran whose Purple Heart he gladly took and showed off at a campaign rally.
“This person is totally incapable of empathy”, Khan told CNN. “I want his family to counsel him. Teach him some empathy. He will be a better person, but he is a black soul.”
Trump (and his authoritarian followers) aren’t the only people who need a lesson in empathy. The lack of empathy knows no creed or color. But, unless you are a sociopath, there is hope that it can be learned.
