July 09, 2007

Empathy

Probably one of the attributes of a truly great Leader is empathy - the ability to walk in other persons shoes, to understand their needs and dreams and so on.

Last week our Prime Minister when addressing the ICTU conference in Bundoran, Donegal remarked that he didnt know why people who engaged in cribbing and moaning about the economy "dont commit suicide."

Empathy?

I was horrified and upset by this comment - indeed I was also very unimpressed by the handful of people in the audience who laughed at the comment.

It certainly made me think of the famous Hindu quotation which warns that " the blind lead the blind into the ditch."

Suicide is one of the biggest challenges facing our society claiming more lives than those tragically killed on the roads.

Posted by Kevin Kelly at July 9, 2007 10:19 AM