The Year Empathy Died

[Nevilledog]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/opinion/toxic-empathy-christianity-trump.html

No paywall link
https://archive.li/DEfbQ

There’s a scene from a movie I can’t get out of my head.

It’s from a 2021 film called “Don’t Look Up,” not my idea of a cinematic classic. It’s a dark comedy about the end of the world, an allegory intended to skewer those who are in denial about climate change, but in this film people are in denial about a comet that’s about to hit the earth.

The movie is equal parts funny and preachy, but the ending is poignant. The main characters of the film are gathered around a dinner table, eating one last meal as they face the end. They’re trying to have a casual conversation as the table starts to rattle.

In that moment — as we watch images of the beauty of earth flashing in front of us — the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio interrupts the small talk with these words:

“The thing of it is, we really did have everything, didn’t we?”

I don’t want to compare the second Trump term to a comet hitting the earth (or maybe I do), but it is absolutely true that we often can’t grasp what we had until we no longer have it. Tragedy and loss adjust our frame, and the disputes and arguments that once seemed so urgent can pale in comparison to new and terrible realities.

*snip*

[maxsolomon]

1. Not your idea of a cinema classic, David French?

Don't Look Up was great.

[cbabe]

2. The Sun Is Burning/Simon and Garfunkel

https://m.