The Toughness of the Culture of Empathy

SALOMO TOBING

Idi Subandy Ibrahim

When the 2022 calendar ends, and is replaced by the new year 2023, memories arise and hope dawns. Even though memories are not always beautiful for everyone, hope sparks and lights the way to the bridge to the future.

Unfortunately, the dawn of hope in 2023 seems to be shrouded in the fog of uncertainty. Some events at the end of 2022 remind us that we are standing on fragile earth. A number of disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, landslides and volcano eruptions, have befallen several regions just when we began to descend from the peak of the pandemic.

The crisis of climate change causes misery. Suffering due to destructive disasters make some residents evacuees in their own country. It tests our endurance as citizens of the nation and humanity. Meanwhile, the threat of global economic crisis and layoffs that is lurking, accompanied by fears of the uncontrolled overflow of political desire to welcome the political year in 2023-2024, is a challenge for social cohesiveness.

Also read:

> Civilization of Solidarity

> Books and Reading Culture

As confirmed by reports of the Kompas Research and Development that discovered the irony during the pandemic, social ties were getting stronger. However, now when the pandemic fades and people's lives begin to gradually return to normal, the gap of social division is even built on the gap of life (Kompas, 3/12/2022).

Then the statement of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on several occasions regarding the "criteria" of the ideal leader deserves to be pondered. The President, among others, said that there were various problems, such as uncertainty after pandemic and price increases, which should have been resolved before discussing political affairs.

The signal submitted by the President shows the importance of the sense of crisis of a leader, namely the leader who has empathy for the fate of the common folks. This actually leads our attention to the importance of a leader's sensitivity to the real problems that are being and will be faced by the Indonesian people in the future.

Now when the pandemic fades and people's lives begin to gradually return to normal, the gap of social division is even built on the gap of life,

To a certain extent, the threat of an ecological and economic crisis can indeed be responded to by various policies by the government to ease the burden of the most suffering citizens. Like during the Cianjur earthquake, sympathy came from officials after President Jokowi's direct visit to the locations that received extensive coverage in the media.

On the one hand, a number of officials were present at the disaster site because of the proximity of the location combined with emotional proximity. Meanwhile, not every area affected by the disaster could be visited so many officials. On the other hand, various solidarity actions shown by citizens, both in the real world and in cyberspace, after the Cianjur earthquake, show that the toughness of the culture of empathy remains alive in society. In difficult circumstances, apparently community concern for the suffering of others strengthens. Willingness to sacrifice seems to be finding a joint momentum.

However, in the midst of efforts to maintain the culture of empathy, we also witness the cultural behavior of some elites who seem unable to control the libido of unconfined power. The desire to rule and gather capital in ways that may deny the law is considered a human action. The permissive attitude toward corruption, manipulation and commercialization of positions is an example that will kill the seeds of empathic leadership.

The emphatic leadership actually grows in collectivist society like Indonesia. Individualistic society is often described as more "idiocentric", namely emphasizing competition, self-confidence and freedom. The collectivist community tends to be more "allocentric", namely emphasizing community responsibilities, social use and appreciation for authority. However, historical reality does not always support this tendency.

With the cultural wealth and various ethnic groups owned by this country, in fact there appears a leader, who has the intelligence of empathy and the cultural intelligence to explore the diversity of problems faced by each region. With that intelligence, a policy is born that is able to change collective ideals into the reality of justice and mutual prosperity.

Also read:

> The Story of Old Age

As has been once explained by Cornel West (1999), an observer of empathy motivation, "Empathy is not just a matter of trying to imagine what other people experience, but having the will to gather sufficient courage to do something,” On the one hand, empathy is based on expectations. On the other hand, there is the courage to realize that hope in policies and actions.

Empathy culture fosters a moral attitude to care, an attitude that fosters sincere concern for mutual prosperity. When we empathize with others, we try to surpass just thinking and feeling as they do. We really care about the welfare of people who are disadvantaged.

After two years of trying to get out of the obstruction of COVID-19, we realize that suffering is real, so that the hope of humanity is real! We are also increasingly aware, in difficult situations, people need support. Concern and sensitivity to suffering can activate our empathy imagination in the global world that is increasingly connected digitally and visually.

In an increasingly noisy world, we need to sharpen the sense of empathy to soften our hearts so that we surpass our limited self-interest.

Now we live in a very digital global world. The more digitalized, the more we need the resilience of empathy culture. Digital progress can help expand our humanitarian empathy horizons. However, digital progress can also narrow our horizons and empathy when it becomes a disinformation and dehumanization machine.

In an increasingly noisy world, we need to sharpen the sense of empathy to soften our hearts so that we surpass our limited self-interest. In his book, Inclusive Cultural Empathy, Paul B Pedersen and his friends wrote that with empathy, we explore and find inner voices that teach how we use it to find a balance of life.

IDI SUBANDY IBRAHIM, Researcher on culture, media and communication

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.