Compassion in the Age of Uncertainty

As I sit here today, after finishing my first year of law school last week and enjoying a couple weeks of rest before starting my summer internship, I thought that I should reflect both on the immense changes that are taking shape across the country and in myself. I write this article both as a reflection and hopefully so that those of you that read it will take a step back and put yourselves in the shoes of a 23 year old rising 2L (second year law student).

For Mother’s Day, my Mom and Dad came and visited me here in Washington D.C. She wanted to go to the National Portrait Gallery, so that’s where we headed. After spending the afternoon looking at the Presidential portraits and an exhibit about some of the lesser seen picture of President John F. Kennedy, I thought about what some of these great men had in common and when America prospered the most.

I realized that the Presidents I hold in high regard (FDR, Kennedy, Obama, and Johnson) worked hard for the American people in the name of actually helping the American people.

They were compassionate to the causes that they championed. They all recognized the need for compassion in American discourse and especially when it came to those people marginalized both here and across the world.

President Kennedy once said this:

There is nothing in the record of the past two years when both Houses of Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party which can lead any person to believe that those promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line — no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth.

We now are faced with a similar situation. We have lost something central to American politics: compassion.

We think about laws not as how they will help people that need it most, but as political bargaining chips. We no longer pass laws to help those that need help the most. We are no longer the “city on the hill” where people in our country and around the world can look for help, guidance, and leadership.

America has fallen by the wayside as we have allowed the political infighting to stop us from accomplishing what our great leaders of the past once did: great legislation with compassion for every American.

As attorneys, we have a great knowledge of the law and the structures of the judicial branch. We know how to help those most in need when they need it. We’re sometimes the last line of defense for our democracy. Although I’m not yet practicing, our profession needs to do more.

It’s not enough to fight the travel ban and be vigilant; we need to run for office, fight for the people of this country, and above all demonstrate compassion everyday in our practice.

I believe that our politicians, our lawyers, and our citizens have lost the idea of compassion. Our society has forgotten that we need to show those among us, especially the most marginalized, compassion in our actions. I’m not naive enough to think that this will be easy or that there won’t be tough choices along the way, but we need men and women of courage and above all else compassion.

I hope to write more on both politics and where we need to go as a nation, but for now, I ask you to think to yourselves:

Am I being compassionate? Using my resources, knowledge, and skills to help others? Will I stand with those that need it most?

I hope the answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes — and if it isn’t, I hope you’ll think about how we need to be more compassionate.