The Passion Diaries 

03/06/2014

Bullying is not merely the stuff of preschool playgrounds, high school hallways, and the tween-to-teen Twittersphere. While it is fair to say that the gradual maturation of one’s moral compass sees a concomitant tapering of social cruelty, the extent to which this tapering occurs is exaggerated by smokescreens and sophistry. I hear it all the time—“Kids a...

I am "devil's advocate" personified (a trait attributable, in large part, to my upbringing). I was always taught to put myself in others’ shoes. If empathy is a sense or capacity, mine was well nurtured and, while it is something that is now deeply engrained in my character, I take little credit for it. I believe every one of us is born with basic capacities for empathy and compassion, but they are nothing if not nurtured.