Last night I attended Dr. Andrew Solomon’s talk on Radical Compassion at the Modlin Center. He opened up the night by discussing his own gay identity, and the ways in which gay rights and the public stigma towards this group has changed in the past fifty years. Dr. Solomon had a great way of putting it- the only thing that transformed something that was deemed to be an illness, into a legitimate identity and an active community, was radical compassion. He remarked upon his experience with different disability groups as well, doing considerable work with dwarf and deaf children and their families. He noted how many times the people who have been challenged the most will often develop the most compassion due to their previous understanding of the feeling of being isolated, alone, and different. Although Dr. Solomon was not a dwarf or deaf, and did not wish to be, his own identity of homosexuality helped him empathize and understand these marginalized communities. Another great point that he explained was that walls between people, whether being physical or existing as a metaphor, are symbols of individual safety, but simultaneously oppress and imprison us. The only way to overcome these boundaries, stigmas, and stereotypes, is travel. This can mean international travel, but it can also be as simple as traveling to another house in your neighborhood and getting to know people there. Conversations build relationships, and relationships break down walls.
I think Dr. Solomon’s talk had some very important implications on both international and local levels of leadership. It is crucial to the leader’s success that they are able to understand the perspectives of their followers in economic, religious, cultural, and political senses, just to name a few. However, like Dr. Solomon notes, this is not an easy process. Truly understanding the perspective of another requires a degree of vulnerability, honestly, and selflessness that many humans are scared of. I think the media often feeds us misrepresentation or “shadows” (thanks, cave allegory) of what different people are like, and in this way technology is dividing us more than it is bringing us together. A leader with radical compassion will seek to understand the intersectional identities of his/her followers, and will also work to use their global influence to better understand the history, politics, and religions of distinct peoples all around the worl
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