George Lakoff: Why is empathy central to democracy?

A key difference between Democrats and Republicans

When I was seven years old, I asked my father what the word “democracy” meant. He replied: ‘You’re not better than anyone else, and no one else is better than you.” “Better than” meant “more deserving than.” Even a seven-year-old could get it.

If you don’t care what happens to other people — if you only care about yourself — why would you care to live in a democracy?

President Barack Obama repeatedly emphasized the importance of empathy, which he identified as one of the most important things his mother had taught him. He defined it as “the ability to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes.”

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