I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new-age term, and it does a lot of damage. I much prefer the word compassion,… - Charlie Kirk
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I can’t stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new-age term, and it does a lot of damage. I much prefer the word compassion, and I much prefer the word sympathy. Empathy is where you try to feel someone’s pain and sorrows as if they’re your own. Compassion allows for understanding. I prefer the word sympathy, because politics has weaponized empathy.
Charles James Kirk (October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025) was an American right-wing political activist, author, and media personality. He co-founded the conservative organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012 and served as its executive director. In 2025, he was shot and killed while speaking at a public event.
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Wikimedia Commons, Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America (CC BY-SA)
Portrait from Wikimedia Commons. Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America. Used under CC BY-SA. Processed and styled by Quotewise.
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I can’t help thinking of the famous words shouted by General La Rochejaquelein fighting against the first French Revolution: “Friends, if I advance, follow me! If I retreat, kill me! If I die, avenge me!
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If old Democrat was something like civil liberties/welfare/internationalism and new Democrat is something like censorship/socialism/internationalism, while old Republican was something like theocratic/corporate/warlike, then the new Republican formula is roughly free speech/entrepreneurial/pro-peace.
