Empathy’s Effect on Single Stories

Living life in a global pandemic is not easy for anyone, but there are some groups of people who have been affected more than others. Personally, I believe the current high school seniors and the graduating class before us are a part of that group of people. I also know that high schoolers are not the only ones who were greatly affected by this pandemic.

The people just beginning the rest of their lives and the individuals nearing the end of their lives, are most negatively affected by not being able to have a fulfilled life. However, the attitude these individuals have towards the effects of the virus depends on who they have been surrounded by throughout quarantine. When shown empathy, people tend to have a more positive outlook on unfortunate events, affecting their experience. 

In the article “Alan Alda On The Importance Of Empathy During The COVID-19 Pandemic,” Alda explains, “The thing that worries me the most is that we seem to have a lowering of our compassion for one another – not – but not so much compassion as empathy.” An individual’s experience during their quarantine may only show the mental health issues they went through, because of the way they felt towards the events taking place, their experience may be different if one was given  empathy by their loved ones. When individuals are surrounded by others who show them empathy and put themselves in their shoes, their attitude towards everything happening around them becomes more positive.

When one is shown empathy they no longer feel alone. While the unfortunate events of 2020 have taken a toll on most people in one way or another, Alda ensures us, “We’re smart enough and good enough at heart to help one another out” (CITE). In this quote, Alda is proving that everyone’s different experiences can improve if we just have more empathy for one another and help each other out.

Finally, Stefon Harris uses music to help portray the idea of empathy and utilizes his musical single story to help, “change the way people relate to each other — to create empathy.” Like many others, Harris wants individuals to see people as more than just their different struggles and create positivity within his listeners.