The first thing that came to mind as I was finishing the article about the difference between sympathy and empathy is the relationship I see between the A.A. and N.A. "Oldtimers." (Alcoholics Anonymous & Narcotics Anonymous.)
I don' t know how true the accounting is, but I've been given a few different stories as to why there is such a rivalry between the two fellowships.
Before I turn this into a research paper, I kinda just wanna state my case and leave it at that so I can get back to doing my homework, which I've been lacking on for the past few weeks..
An alcoholic can have sympathy for somebody that's been addicted to narcotics, but would not necessarily share an empathetic perspective unless the person with a narcotic addiction had experienced an addiction to alcohol as well.
A person that solely used narcotics addictively would not share an empathetic perspective with somebody that only drank alcohol. In that case, only a scene of sympathy could be present in the addict.
Unless these emotional states are present in either of the persons, no sense of compassion will manifest and a desire to find differences will pervade. That being the case, ethnocentrism will be the result, and there will be no chance of recovery.
Why that's relevant, or even worth writing anything about, is because I wonder where the children caught in the crossfire sit. Those that have drank alcoholically as well as used narcotics addictively.
People like me don't really have a house to claim, which is why I've found my recovery in Jesus, NOT RELIGION OR CHURCH.
After reading the bible, and being around both the N.A. and A.A. communities, I've learned that they too, like church's, are subject to the folly of religious practices.
You will get you're head torn off by the statement: "We're spiritual, not religious" if you ever make mention to the similarities, but they are there if you know what you're looking for.
The article I read can be found HERE:
http://robin.hubpages.com/hub/Sympathy_vs_Empathy
No comments:
Post a Comment