[sheepmullet]

> How often are people actively selected to practice empathy or kindness on a national level?

How much of this is highly empathetic people opting out?

I was an emotional wreck for close to a month when I had to layoff half my team.

And in the grand scheme of things I'm not particularly empathetic and laying people off is nothing compared to the choices made at a national level.

[maemilius]

Actually, I would argue that what you did was more difficult, emotionally, than what goes on in government.

You had a personal relationship with those people and you were put into a position where you had to, in a way, harm them. I would argue that most people in politics don't have anywhere near that level of personal connection with the people they affect which makes it much easier to rationalize and justify.