Selective Empathy
There is a path that seems to be
Compassionate and kind
But is selective empathy
And not of the Divine
For evil has no real appeal
To attract or invite
But lures via deceptive ruse
With partial glints of light
Selective empathy the key
To cloak infernal snares
Catching the watchmen off guard
And the naive unawares
They play upon the heart strings
With precision and finesse
Taking advantage of their host
And love out of context
For mercy's sake
Do not mistake soft-head for a soft-heart
Liberation from the frying pan to fire
Is not smart
If you would save the forest
You must look beyond the tree
Detaching from a locked embrace
While stepping back to see
For protecting a forest
Can a tinder box create
Till all goes up in flames
But at an exponential rate
And thus we see
The error to be selective empathy
Like protecting one species
Harms a balanced ecosystem
And so we must consider acts
Applying grace in wisdom
We must see immediacy
As myopic, rash, and cordoned
And calculate cause and effect
As far as can be reckoned
Alas, we see
The flaw to be
Again, selective empathy
Do not rescind the quarantine in haste
To bless the sick
For others then infected
Join the ranks of the chronic
Do not grant villains clemency
To prove you have compassion
Endangering the public
Is not magnanimous action
While these appear to be pity
They're both selective empathy
For special interests are by nature
Blatant favoritism
Discrimination tips the scale
And causes great division
Thus racial inequality
Is not offset by preference
Reversing bias does not heal
Injustice nor the offense
It seems like restitution
And yet does not restore
It seems a lot like justice
But it does not end the war
And thus we see
Both sides to be
But mirrored selective empathy
Thus, mercy for the terrorist
Is death sentence for the hostage
Here taking life to save life
Is not convoluted logic
The pith's not contradictory
Nor ethical antipathy
And yet selective empathy's
Like thin veneered hypocrisy
Appearances are not the aim
Of honest Altruism
Upon the altar sacrifice your ego
Heal the schism
We sever limbs infected
In hopes to save the soma
The act surely lamentable
But necessary trauma
Some parents can't endure the pain
Of children getting shots
Obsessed they focus on their tears
And not on healthy tots
It seems like love
But can you see
It is selective empathy
We have to take the long view
We have to set priorities
And discipline solicitudes
To serve others entirely
So, don't undermine commerce
With a largess dose of charity
The shop keeper deserves his meal
In service to society
If demand is disrupted
By abundance without cost
It nudges out the little guy
In business he has lost
Destroying needed livelihood
And resource to community
Plus then he joins the bread line
Which is economic lunacy
Moreover, he employs the clerk
And others incidentally
The shipper, the producers
Also other intermediaries
Do we help the poor
When giving comfort as they wish?
Or do we feed a multitude
By teaching them to fish?
We want to help
But have to see
Beyond selective empathy
Prudent compassion
Must agree
To implement true charity
Do not let moral latitude
Engender reckless attitudes
Nor idealistic platitudes
Endangering the state
Socrates' drank the poison
A crown of thorns destroyed sin
And Samson brought the house down on himself
Beyond blind faith
True empathy is broad
Not narrow or selective
The golden rule--a global swath
Not biased nor subjective
Self-righteousness is not the goal
But common good considered whole
Both ends and means important
To accomplish Love's objective
At last we see
With clarity
The philanthrope's epiphany
With open heart
With certainty
The true nature of empathy
