Empathy as Subversion
Part 2 of The Long Game
We live in a culture that treats empathy like a weakness. To the “Alpha,” empathy is a “bleeding heart” distraction. It’s seen as something soft, passive, or even gullible.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
In a regime built on dominance and “othering,” empathy is one of the most dangerous tools we have. It isn’t about being “nice.” It’s about Radical Proximity. It is the bolt-cutter for the chains of dehumanization that every strongman relies on to stay in power.
The “Othering” Engine
The Alpha myth survives by creating an “Other.” It needs a villain, a scapegoat, or a “weak” group to step on to build its throne. This is the “Barabbas” moment we see in the old texts. The crowd is whipped into a frenzy to choose a criminal over an innocent man because they’ve been taught that “those people” don’t matter.
Empathy breaks the engine.
When you practice empathy, you refuse to accept the regime’s labels. You look at the person they are trying to crush and you say, “I see you. Your weight is my weight.” This is the “self-emptying” we talked about from Philippians… emptying yourself of your own comfort and status to stand in the gap for someone else.
Empathy is a Tactical Choice
Most people think empathy is an emotion that just “happens” to you. But in the Long Game, empathy is a choice.
It’s the choice to listen to the “weary” (Isaiah 50) when the world tells you to ignore them.
It’s the choice to stay grounded in the humanity of your opponent, even when they are trying to bait you into a shouting match.
It’s the choice to provide a support system for the person the Alpha is trying to isolate.
When you do this, you aren’t just being “kind.” You are actively sabotaging the Strongman’s ability to divide us.
Moving Toward the “Crushed”
If the Alpha builds a throne by stepping up, the Humanist builds power by stepping in.
This is the power of Proximity. When you move toward the people the regime is trying to marginalize… the immigrant, the poor, the “othered” colleague… you create a network of human value that the state cannot track or control. You make their brand of cruelty irrelevant because you’ve already decided that the person next to you is worth more than the status the regime is offering.
The “Empathy Stress-Test”
The hardest part of this isn’t having empathy for the people we already like. It’s having empathy for the people we’ve been told to hate, including the “Alpha-wannabes” themselves.
Wait, what? Yes.
When we see the “Alpha” as a person trapped in a cage of their own insecurity, we stop being afraid of them. We see how fragile they are. We see their desperation. And once you see the fragility of a Strongman, he loses his power over you.
Your Challenge: The “Proximity Pivot”
This week, find one person in your life, either someone the current political climate tells you to “other,” or someone who is currently being sidelined in your workplace or social circle.
Don’t just “feel” for them. Move toward them.
Spend fifteen minutes listening to their story without trying to “fix” it or “debate” it. Empty yourself of the need to be the expert. Just be the witness. See how that act of proximity changes the power dynamic in the room.
Afterwards, spend some time reflecting:
Does “Empathy as Subversion” change the way you look at your daily interactions? Can we be “soft” enough to feel, but “flint-like” enough to stay?