I’M referring to the word which may be lacking in some government officials and even officers and men of the police force amid a new tact by their chief, General Rommel Marbil to bring honest-to-goodness reforms thru the easiest, most practical way.

Different dictionaries describe ‘empathy’ as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, meaning the ability to take on another’s perspective, to understand, feel, and possibly share and respond to their experience. This is needed as officers talk and bark instructions to their men and as they pound the beat and meet people from all walks of life.

It’s basically putting yourself in someone else’s position and feeling what they are feeling. I’m referring to what subordinates will feel when they feel they are humiliated in front of other people and before television cameras by ranking government officials, lawmakers or even their superiors in the PNP.

This has happened before and is still happening up to now. There is the lack of empathy being displayed by powerful lawmakers and retired and active politicians who humiliate both the innocent and the not so innocent in front of cameras as if they were the ‘judge, jury and executioners’ rolled into one.

There are also cases of government officials accused of having ‘soured relationship’ with their subordinates because of their Hitler-like mentality; and so many cases of officials who utter words which tend to embarrass others regularly.

And then there is the presence of policemen known for their temper and not so-so-good attitude when it comes to dealing with people. How will a poor Juan dela Cruz deal with these officers” Just imagine what a lowly construction worker or a taxi driver will feel if he is talking with a desk sergeant or an investigator who clearly doesn’t want to offer any help because they can’t get nothing from the complainants in return.

Again, the word ‘empathy’ is missing in that case. Lack of it will also mean a lot as police generals down to their Lieutenants ask their men to get the job done, to follow their instructions to the letter and most importantly build confidence that really inspire others to work harder.

I hope and pray that with this, many will clearly learn and understand the lessons in the past.

With this, I’m sharing a Facebook post read to me by my wife Candy the other day. I don’t know who the author is but his story really made my day. It’s about ‘Life’s greatest lesson.’

Here is how it goes: An old man meets a young man who asks:“Do you remember me?” And the old man says no. Then the young man tells him he was his student, And the teacher asks: “What do you do, what do you do in life?”

The young man answers: “Well, I became a teacher.” “Ah, how good, like me?” Asks the old man. “Well, yes. In fact, I became a teacher because you inspired me to be like you.” The old man, curious, asks the young man at what time he decided to become a teacher. And the young man tells him the following story:

“One day, a friend of mine, also a student, came in with a nice new watch, and I decided I wanted it.I stole it, I took it out of his pocket. Shortly after, my friend noticed his watch was missing and immediately complained to our teacher, who was you.

Then you addressed the class saying, ‘This student’s watch was stolen during classes today. Whoever stole it, please return it.’ I didn’t give it back because I didn’t want to. You closed the door and told us all to stand up and form a circle. You were going to search our pockets one by one until the watch was found.

However, you told us to close our eyes, because you would only look for his watch if we all had our eyes closed. We all did as instructed. You went from pocket to pocket, and when you went through my pocket, you found the watch and took it. You kept searching everyone’s pockets, and when you were done you said ‘open your eyes. We have the watch.’

You didn’t tell on me and you never mentioned the episode. You never said who stole the watch either. That day you saved my dignity forever. It was the most shameful day of my life. But this is also the day I decided not to become a thief, a bad person, etc. You never said anything, nor did you even scold me or take me aside to give me a moral lesson.

I received your message clearly. Thanks to you, I understood what a real educator needs to do. Do you remember this episode, professor? The old professor answered, ‘Yes, I remember the situation with the stolen watch, which I was looking for in everyone’s pocket. I didn’t remember you, because I also closed my eyes while looking.’

This is the essence of teaching: If to correct someone you need to humiliate Or Insult them; then surely you don’t know how to teach.”

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon