What He Said 2

Glenn Greenwald talks about (surprise!) empathy and the Republican Party. He ties it in to their constant assertions that Americans are objectively the bestest people ever from the bestest country ever ever (assuming they're white and straight, natch), but the piece is of most interest for demonstrating how their obnoxious unwillingness to consider how their policies affect other people miraculously vanish when they start to impinge on themselves or their families.

For all the mockery over empathy, look at what happens to right-wing figures in those rare cases when they become personally affected by the ideology they advocate. They quickly abandon it. Dick Cheney objects to the injustice of gay inequality because his daughter is burdened by it. Nancy Reagan deviates from social conservative dogma to become a leading advocate of stem-cell research because she suffered through her husband's Alzheimers (sic). Jane Harman instantaneously transforms from Surveillance State authoritarian to raving civil libertarian upon learning that her own telephone conversations were intercepted by the government. They advocate their views up until the point that it begins adversely affecting not only others, but also themselves.

Read the whole thing.