We watched a video of Sociologist Sam Richards preaching about stepping into other people's shoes and feeling empathy for others. Sometimes we are too selfish and only care about how we perceive things and not step into the shoes of the other person's point of view. An example Mr. Richards gave is a couple of Iraqis who were captured by the American Army during the Iraqi War. The two Iraqi men were captured for retaliating against our forces. As Americans, we probably think, "Yeah, that's good that we captured those radicals! They deserve it everything given to them." Now take off your 100% Patriotic shoes and step into the shoes of an Iraqi citizen. How do you feel now? You probably think, "They tried fighting for what they believed in and that trying to retain our independence. What brave men." They have the same viewpoint that we Americans have of our Armed Forces. There really isn't a difference. It really made me think.
We look into the big picture and we all try to figure out how we fit into it. The world is like one big sociological puzzle. We are one small piece out of seven billion. When are we going to step out of our shoes and figure out what is our purpose in our society? In my short time I have spent alive, I really never pondered that question. You learn about many figures in History class and how they all impacted others with their leadership; for example MLK or Roosevelt. Could we ever achieve a special legacy like these historical figures engraved in history? The chances of everyone to leave such an impact on the lives of millions is slim, but sometimes you don't need to be a revolutionary or president to leave a great significance behind. You could be a doctor or a teacher and one day when you're gone, people might still recollect about how great of person he/she was and how they touched the lives of the people they worked with or how great they were at their profession. If you leave a positive mark on the people you got to share the circle of life with, you will leave a legacy worth cherishing. It all starts by showing some empathy.
There's a few instances in my life that I have put on other peoples' shoes. Every time someone tells me a problem they might have or when someone is having troubles and they come to me, I open my ears and listen to them. I try to put myself in their shoes and try to feel where they are coming from. Sometimes when you show empathy to others who are sad or mad, it makes you feel good about yourself and knowing you're doing a really good thing. One of the best feelings I could ever feel is cheering up someone and putting them in a good mood when they were feeling down. Not only does it make someone happy, but you also feel happy you made someone's day.
I see myself fitting into the big picture of society as a regular citizen of the United States who will hopefully someday be remembered in a positive way by the people I was grateful to share my life with. I could be a teacher or a journalist, maybe a business mogul or garbage man. Heck, I could be a bum on the street, but I just hope someday when I'm gone, I will be remembered as an optimistic light, as an empathetic individual. That really matters to me.
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