“The realization that failure was possible, even for me, had the effect of increasing my empathy. If life could be this harsh/grueling/boring for someone who'd had all the advantages, what must it be like for someone who hadn't? A thread of connection went out between me and everyone else. They, too, wanted to be happy. They, too, wanted to succeed. Maybe they had people they loved at home. They, too, were doing some weird uninteresting job in order to ensure the security and happiness of those beloved people of theirs, and yet...”
Quote by George Saunders
Work
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
You May Also Like
Source: Called for Life: How Loving Our Neighbor Led Us into the Heart of the Ebola Epidemic
Source: What Makes a Hero
“Money is not the root of all evil. A lack of empathy is.”
Source: Burn Out of a Fairy Godmother
“A lack of empathy is a defining characteristic of the sociopath.”
Source: The Rational Bible: Exodus
Source: Song Of Solomon
“But people could walk the same road and see different things.”
Source: The Hush
“I feel at home in the entire world, wherever there are clouds and birds and human tears”
Source: The Letters of Rosa Luxemburg
