Barack Obama on Empathy

Barack Obama and the New Spirit of Empathy
A ProgressiveSpirit.com Collaborative Video Project

Barack Obama is leading a campaign based on values. At the core of this is the value of empathy. Barack talks about empathy and the importance of 'standing in other peoples shoes', in many of his speeches (I've collected 40 so far). Empathy is the most basic value he ran on and he says the country has an 'empathy deficit' that needs to be filled. We are putting together a video of his talking about this topic to give it some context and promote this foundational progressive value. Let's help fill the empathy deficit by making people more aware of the topic. This is a collaborative project and we would like you to take part. Send me an email if you'd like to get involved with creating this video. Edwin Rutsch (email)

To Join the Project

Contribute from anywhere online. We'll be holding online discussions and meetings.
- Join the project discussion list.
Attend In Person meetings in the Bay Area. El Cerrito, CA. Next meetings:
(download meeting flyer in Word Obama-Empathy-Meeting-Flyer-Full-Page.doc )
- Saturday, Dec 20, 2008, 2 - 4 pm - At this meeting we'll show clips of Obama talking about empathy. After seeing each clip we'll discuss the topics raised in a round table format and video tape the discussion. The clip and your discussion will be posted to Youtube to inspire more discussions about empathy..
- Saturday, Jan 10, 2008, 2 - 4 pm - At this meeting we'll show clips of Obama talking about empathy. After seeing each clip we'll discuss the topics raised in a round table format and video tape the discussion. The clip and your discussion will be posted to Youtube to inspire more discussions about empathy..
- Meetings will be ongoing.....

To Do List:

Vote for the Bridging the Empathy Gap idea (from Jan. 5-15) Promote the idea of creating an inter-departmental office of empathy to the Obama Administration. Vote for the idea that already has over 2,000 votes on the Change.org website.
Research Obama's Empathy Story: Collect materials (videos, photos, etc).
- Research and find all the existing material about Barack Obama talking about Empathy.
- find clips of Michelle Obama as well talking about empathy.
- find missing material marked in red below.
- track down original video tape.
- find images that help tell the stories
- talk about and organize the material
- video interview people on the topic of empathy, get their personal stories.
- edit material into a video clip
- create video rough cuts
  - Cut 1 - Chronological video of Barack on Empathy - with transitions introductions (1 hr 20 min)
  - Cut 2 - Individual clips with group discussion comments. (10 min max)
  - Cut 3 - Chronological + interspersed stories
  - Cut 4 - Compressed + interspersed personal empathy stories
  - Cut 5 - See how it progresses - where's the alive energy?
Story Telling: Interview people telling personal stories about Empathy
- Tell your personal story of empathy, we'll make a 3 minute video of it.
- Gather other personal stories that convey the experience of empathy
- Setup an Interview Workshop
Promotion: Promote the Project and get more people to join and contribute
- Post notice to My.BarckObama.com groups
- Post notice to DFA blog
- Email DFA values group
- Email yahoo group
- Create a project group on My.BarackObama site

Video Clips of Barrack Obama Talking About Empathy
(areas in red are material that's still needed)
(See the full text of all of Barack's Empathy Comments Here)


	Date yr-month -day	Clip	Speech	Empathy Comments	DL	Print
	1995-07-18 Jul		Book: Dreams from My Father	1995-07-18 - Book - Dreams from My Father Text Source - Local Copy - Nor do I pretend to understand the stark nihilism that drove the terrorists that day and that drives their brethren still. My powers of empathy, my ability to reach into another's heart, cannot penetrate the blank stares of those who would murder innocents with abstract, serene satisfaction. ------ And it is that truth, a truth that they surely sense but can't admit and, in fact, must refuse if they are to wake up tomorrow, that has forced them, or others like them, eventually to shut off access to any empathy they may once have felt.
	2001-09-19 Sep	(need video)	9-11 Attack Caused by “Lack of Empathy”	2001-09-19 - 9-11 Attack Caused by Lack of Empathy Text Source - L ocal Copy - Empathy Section We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity.		p
	2004-07-27 July		DNC 2004 Keynote Address - Boston MA	2004-07-27 - DNC 2004 Keynote Address - Boston MA Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (any empathy sections?)
	2004-11-XX Nov		Sen. Barack Obama, O Magazine (Nov. 2004) (need text and any video)	2004-11-XX - Sen. Barack Obama O Magazine Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section I often say we've got a budget deficit that's important, we've got a trade deficit that's critical, but what I worry about most is our empathy deficit. When I speak to students, I tell them that one of the most important things we can do is to look through somebody else's eyes.” Sen. Barack Obama, O Magazine (Nov. 2004)
	2004-11-23 Nov		Charlie Rose - BARACK OBAMA	2004-11-23 - Charlie Rose - Barack Obama Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (need transcript) At video 25:00 - 27:00: When I see the empathy deficit that damages so much of our politics. Rose: What is the empathy deficit? The inability of people to stand in other folks shoes. ... 52:00 It's hard to empathize with people who have different values than you.	x	v
	2005-04-12 Apri	(need video)	My Visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center	2005-04-12 - My Visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section Throughout these visits, I was extraordinarily impressed with the deep care, attentiveness and professionalism of the staff at Walter Reed. They considered these young people to be part of their families and are able to maintain a powerful balance between empathy for those in their care and a cheerful insistence on the ability of these wounded soldiers to recover from their injuries.		p
	2005-06-22 Jun	(need video)	What it takes be bona fide `full-grown' man -	2005-06-22 - What it takes be full-grown man Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section One of the values that I think men in particular have to pass on is the value of empathy. Not sympathy, empathy. And what that means is standing in somebody else's shoes, being able to look through their eyes. You know, sometimes we get so caught up in "us" that it's hard to see that there are other people and that your behavior has an impact on them. And sometimes brothers in particular don't like to feel empathy, don't like to think in terms of "How does this affect other people?" because we think that's being soft. There's a culture in our society that says we can't show weakness and we can't, therefore, show kindness. That we can't be considerate because sometimes that makes us look weak.		p
	2005-09-22 Sep	(need video)	Confirmation of Judge John Roberts	2005-09-22 - Confirmation of Judge John Roberts Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section That last mile can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works, and the depth and breadth of one's empathy.
	2006-01-13 Jan	(need video)	Obama wraps up Middle East trip	2006-01-13 - Obama wraps up Middle East trip Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section As you travel through the Middle East what keeps on striking home to me is how similar everyone is, and yet the degree to which we can find differences to fight wars over. It requires a great deal of empathy, I think, between various sides to overcome this history and live in peace. Local:
	200X-XX-XX date ???		Literacy & Empathy? Reading Pennsylvania? (need full transcript and where is this speech from?)	200X-XX-XX - Literacy & Empathy Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section The biggest deficit that we have in our society and the world right now is an empathy deficit. (empathy deficit, Barack Obama talks about the empathy deficit and how literacy and reading can help)	x	v
	2006-xx-xx May?	part 1	Keynote at Building with Books Part 1 and Part 2	2006-xx-xx - Keynote at Building with Books Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (need full transcript) (Says Building with Books program helps kids develop empathy.)	x	v
	2006-xx-xx May?	part 2	Keynote at Building with Books Part 1 and Part 2		x	v
	2006-06-02 Jun	(need video)	U. Massachusetts Boston Commencement	2006-06-02 - U Massachusetts Boston Commencement Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section My third piece of advice is to cultivate a sense of empathy - to put yourself in other people's shoes - to see the world from their eyes. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world. Local:		p
	2006-06-16 Jun		2006 Northwestern Commencement	2006-06-16 - 2006 Northwestern Commencement Text Source 1, Source 2 - Local Copy - Empathy Section (Challenges Grads to Cultivate Empathy.) The world doesn't just revolve around you. There's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit.	x	pv
	2006-07-12 Jul		Campus Progress Annual Conference (problems with clip) clip2	2006-07-12 - Campus Progress Annual Conference Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section The last piece of advice is to cultivate a sense of empathy. There's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through those who are different from us - the child who's hungry, the laid-off steelworker, the immigrant woman cleaning your dorm room.	x	p
	2006-08-11 Aug	(need video)	Xavier University Commencement	2006-08-11 - Xavier University Commencement Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section You know, there's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit - the ability to put ourselves in someone else's shoes; to see the world through the eyes of those who are different from us - the child who's hungry, the steelworker who's been laid-off, the family who lost the entire life they built together when the storm came to town.		p
	2006-09-17 Sep		Book: Audacity of Hope (author talk)	2006-09-17 - Book - Audacity of Hope Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section in Chapter 2 on Values "Like most of my values, I learned about empathy from my mother. She disdained any kind of cruelty or thoughtlessness or abuse of power ....Whenever she saw even a hint of such behavior in me she would look me square in the eyes and ask, "How do you think that would make you feel?" ... I find myself returning again and again to my mother's simple principle -- "How would that make you feel?" -- as a guidepost for my politics. ... It's not a question we ask ourselves enough, I think; as a country, we seem to be suffering from an empathy deficit."	ax
	2006-10-18		Oprah Show	2006-10-18 - Oprah Show Text Source - 2nd - Local Copy - Empathy Section "My mother taught me empathy—the basic concept of standing in somebody else's shoes and looking through their eyes. If I did something messed up, she'd just say, 'How would that make you feel if somebody did that to you?' That ends up being, I think, at the center of my politics, and I think that should be the center of all our politics. If we see a child who's languishing in an inner-city school, how would we feel if that was our child?"
	2006-10-19 Oct		Charlie Rose - An hour with Barack Obama	2006-10-19 - Charlie Rose - An hour with Barack Obama Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section Text: (no comments about empathy in this interview) Local:	x
	2006-10-19 Oct	(need video)	Larry King Live Part One - on CNN but ends before empathy section. on Youtube Part Two?? Where is it??	2006-10-19 - Larry King Live Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section Larry King quotes from Audacity of Hope: "Like most of my values, I learned about empathy from my mother"
	2007-03-04 Mar		Selma Speech: Commemorates 1965 civil rights march in Selma, AL (need full video)	2007-03-04 - Selma Speech Commemorates 1965 civil rights march Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (1&2) There is an empathy gap. There is a gap in terms of sympathizing for the folks in New Orleans.	x vx	p
	2007-05-19 May		Southern New Hampshire Uni Commencement	2007-05-19 - Southern New Hampshire Uni Commencement Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section "The world doesn't just revolve around you. There's a lot of talk in this country about the federal deficit. But I think we should talk more about our empathy deficit "	x vx	p
	2007-07-17 Jul		Planned Parenthood Conference: Full Speech	2007-07-17 - Planned Parenthood Conference Text Source 1, Text Source 2 - Local Copy - Empathy Section Barack Obama appoint Supreme Court justices justices with "empathy." "We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."	x	p
	2007-08-08 Aug		Barack Obama Walks in the Shoes of Oakland Homecare Worker Pauline Beck	2007-08-08 - Barack Obama Walks in the Shoes of Oakland Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (Obama 'walks in the shoes' of Pauline Beck cleans her house. Empathy in action.) Local:	x
			Michelle Obama at the Iowa Veterans Home, Marshalltown Monday, December 31, 2007?	Michelle Obama at the Iowa Veterans Home, Marshalltown. "We are suffering as a nation because we suffer a deficit of empathy."
	2007-09-30 Sept		Michelle Obama: U.S. Has 'Empathy Deficit' State of the Black Woman	2007-09-30 - Michelle Obama - US Has Empathy Deficit Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section Barack always says that one of our greatest challenges as a nation is not a deficit of resources – for we are one of the riches countries in the world; and it's not deficit of policies, because we have some of the greatest minds working on these issues. Instead, our greatest challenge is that we are living in a time when we are suffering from a deep empathy deficit.	x	p
	2008-01-20 Jan		King Day at Ebenezer Baptist Church The Great Need of the Hour Atlanta, GA	2008-01-20 - King Day at Ebenezer Baptist Church Text & Vid Source - Text B Source 2 - Local Copy - Empathy Section I'm talking about a moral deficit. I'm talking about an empathy deficit. I'm taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper;	x	p
	2008-03-18 Jan		King Day at The Dome Columbia, SC.	2008-03-18 - King Day at The Dome Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section I'm talking about an empathy deficit that exists. I'm talking about an inability to recognize ourselves in each other, to understand that we are our brother's keeper, that we are our sister's keeper, that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny. We have an empathy deficit when we're still sending our children down corridors of shame instead of corridors of opportunity, not just in South Carolina but all across the United States of America.	x
	2008-01-29 Jan	A B	Reclaiming the American Dream El Dorado, KS A (full video is here) B - (what is the difference between these 2 speeches?)	2008-01-29 - Reclaiming the American Dream Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section This will not be easy. Because the change we seek will not just come from overcoming the ingrained and destructive habits of Washington, it will require overcoming our own fears and our own doubts. It will require each of us to do our part in closing the moral deficit - the empathy deficit - that exists in this nation. It will take standing in one another's shoes and remembering that we are our brother's keeper; we are our sister's keeper.	x vx	p
	2008-03-18 Mar		Philadelphia: A More Perfect Union	2008-03-18 - Philadelphia - A More Perfect Union Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (More Perfect Union - patriotism means more caring)	x	p
	2008-03-19 Mar		Anderson Cooper Interview (need better clip of this interview, it's squashed look)	2008-03-19 - Anderson Cooper Interview Text? Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section I think is the core of patriotism, which is, you know, are we caring for each other? Are we upholding the values of our founders? Are we willing to sacrifice on behalf of future generations? (Patriotism starts with people caring about each other)	x	p
	2008-03-19 Mar		Anderson Cooper Interview copy 2 (need to find link to this)		x
	2008-04-01 Apr		Ann Currie Interview Today Show	2008-04-01 - Ann Currie Interview Today Show Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section Text: most important thing mother taught you, Obama says empathy. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes.	x
	2008-05-25 May		Wesleyan Commencement Ceremony ver 2A at 5:30 B, C	2008-05-25 - Wesleyan Commencement Ceremony Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section But during my first two years of college, perhaps because the values my mother had taught me –hard work, honesty, empathy – had resurfaced after a long hibernation; or perhaps because of the example of wonderful teachers and lasting friends, I began to notice a world beyond myself.	x	p
	2008-06-15 Jun		Father's Day Speech Apostolic Church of God, Chicago, IL	2008-06-15 - Father's Day Speech Apostolic Church Chicago Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section fathers is pass along the value of empathy to our children. Not sympathy, but empathy – the ability to stand in somebody else's shoes; to look at the world through their eyes.	x	P
	2008-07-10 Jul	(need video)	Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Joint Event with Senator Hillary Clinton	2008-07-10 - Remarks Joint Event with Senator Hillary Clinton Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section But the Supreme Court also affects women's lives in so many other ways – from decisions on equal pay, to workplace discrimination, to Title IX, to domestic violence, to civil rights and workers' rights. And the question we face in this election is whether we'll have judges who demonstrate sound judgment and empathy, who understand how law operates in our daily lives, who are committed to upholding the values at the core of our Constitution – or judges who put ideology before justice, with our fundamental rights as the first casualty.		p
	2008-08-05 Aug		A&E Biography Barack Obama	2008-08-05 - A&E Biography Barack Obama Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (check for empathy quotes, none more historical bio)	x
	2008-08-16 Aug		Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency Empathy Section Full interview	2008-08-16 - Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency Text & Vid Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section Warren: tell me in a minute why you want to be president. OBAMA: You know, I remember what my mother used to tell me. I was talking to somebody a while back, and I said, the one time that she'd get really angry with me is if she ever thought that I was being mean to somebody or unfair to somebody. She said, imagine standing in their shoes, imagine looking through their eyes. That basic idea of empathy.	x
	2008-08-28 Aug		Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC The American Promise	2008-08-28 - Barack Obama at the 2008 DNC Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section (any empathy stories in this speech?)
	2008-08-28 Aug		2008 DNC: Barack Obama Tribute Biography Video	2008-08-28 - 2008 DNC: Barack Obama Tribute Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section 1. The only time I ever saw my mother really angry is when she saw cruelty, when she saw somebody being bullied or somebody being treated differently because of who they were. And, if she saw me doing that, she would be furious. And she would say to me: "Imagine standing in that person's shoes. How would that make you feel?" That simple idea, I'm not sure I always understood when I was a kid, but it stayed with me. 2. What I want is a family that is transmitting the values I inherited, the values that Michelle inherited to the next generation: hard work, honesty, self-reliance, respect for other people, a sense of empathy, kindness, faith.	x
	2008-09-17 Sept		Steve Kroft - 60 Minutes interview - Elko, NV 2008-10-20 - Pinay girl writes to Obama	2008-09-17 - Steve Kroft - 60 Minutes interview - Elko NV Text part 1 - Text part 2 Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section That sense of putting' yourself in somebody else's shoes, and seeing through their eyes. And what's shaped me most powerfully -- maybe because I'm half black and half white -- that a big chunk of my childhood, I was sort of an outsider, didn't quite fit anywhere.	x
	2008-10-20 Oct		Pinay girl writes to Obama, gets response	2008-10-20 - Pinay girl writes to Obama Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section “If you don't already know what it means, I want you to look up the word ‘empathy' in the dictionary. I believe we don't have enough empathy in our world today, and it is up to your generation to change that.”
	2008-10-23 Oct		Maya on Her and Baracks Mother	2008-10-23 - Maya on Her and Baracks Mother Text Source - Local Copy - Empathy Section Maya says Barack learned empathy from their mother. Maya, "She was the most empathetic person I know and she encouraged that in Barack, I think, and she is the one that gave him his ability to connect with so many people. "	x



Other Empathy Links
	2005-01-25		PBS Nova: About Mirror Neurons	Mirror neurons as source of empathy - very good!	x
	date ???		About Mirror Neurons	Mirror neurons as source of empathy -	x
	2007-04-25		Acting and Mirror Neurons	Mirror neurons as source of empathy and how it relates to acting. Has a panel of scientists and actors.

Other: Criticisms, Comments, etc. of Barack Obama and Empathy
		Notes
	George Lakoff on Barack Obama's Empathy Campaign Commonwealth Club of California SF, CA Jun 20th, 2008	George Lakoff attributes Barack Obama's popularity to his messages of empathy, caring, and human dignity. To Obama, the basis of human kindness is not reliant upon any political platform but on the core values of empathy and fairness. Empathy is at the center of the Obama campaign shows up in foreign policy.
	Jeffrey Feldman and George Lakoff on Framing the Debate:	1:04 Lakoff says Regan talked about values, people vote on Values 1:08 Obama is running on empathy. he mentions: - Selma Speech - Anderson Cooper - asks about patriotism, Obama talks about empathy but it's ignored - Ann Currie - most important thing mother taught you, Obama says 'empathy'
	National Character -analysis on NPR of Barack Obama's call for more empathy.	Local: many speeches Obama talks bout the empathy deficits. Aspect of the national character & touchy feely (critique).
	Obama & Empathy on Dailykos
	Rep. Chris Smith disparages Obama's 'empathy deficit'
	Obama: 911 Attack Caused by “Lack of Empathy”
	the-soft-underbelly-empathy
	The Politics Of Empathy And Barack Obama, Beverly Darling.	Text: "In numerous interviews and books Obama talks about one of the most important and greatest characteristics that his mother instilled in him: Empathy! For Obama, empathy means putting yourself in another persons shoes, having feelings for others, and being able to understand another individuals perspective."

Lists of Barack Obama's Speeches

Other Links On Empathy

Empathy Bowl '08: Palin vs. Obama:
aritcle by Mark Fisher, talks about empathy. He mentions, "Colleen Shogan, a research manager at the Congressional Research Service, who very presciently has been exploring the role empathy plays in presidential leadership."

Honor, Empathy And The Limits Of Political Virtue
(an article about Obama and empathy)
John McCain, stakes his life and his nation's fate, on honor, whatever the cost. Barack Obama is a human seismometer, sensing the needs of his interlocutors--enemies and friends--before he acts.
by Paul Starobin "You cannot influence a person that you do not make an effort to understand," Robert McNamara said in an April 2005 speech at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University in Rhode Island. "Today we don't do this. It's a lack of the willingness to move toward empathy."

Cells That Read Minds, NY Times Article,

Wikipedia, Mirror neuron

Seeing movies increases empathy
“Mirror neurons allow us to grasp the minds of others not through conceptual reasoning but through direct simulation. By feeling, not by thinking.”

Empathy Now Forum for Nonviolent Communication (NVC)