The Sympathy Card

The Sympathy Card Photo from Oprah.com via Google It is a very common and humanistic trait to seek sympathy.   Sympathy is given when others feel sorry for another person because of some sort of occurrence that has happened in their lives.   Sympathy is related to hardships and a person who has overcome hardships is often a respected person, and most people want to be respected and seen as a strong individual.   It is perfectly acceptable to share your experiences with others and to express feelings, longings and trials, but it feels as though “playing the sympathy card” is becoming overused. There is a lot more to be said about a person who does not feel the need to share all their trials because everyone has a story and everyone has at least some sort of trial they have faced in their lives.   Of course, certain people have experienced more unfortunate events than others, but every human being faces some sort of struggle.   Some may experience death of loved ones or poverty while others biggest problems may be fighting with their parents.     Obviously not all issues in life are equal.   But I think the most attractive and brave characteristic a person can have is the humility to not seek sympathy for hardships.   Understanding that, yes, I have had to overcome certain obstacles but yet having the strength to contain the desire inside to want to tell everyone to invoke sympathy.   I am not saying to never share your emotions or feeling, but there is a time and a place to do so and social media sites and in every topic of conversation are not those places.   The stronges t people don’t want sympathy for their hardships but rather respect for how they choose to handle it.   Respect is given to people who don’t wallow in self-pity and go about their lives with a positive attitude.   Isn’t it much more pleasant to be around people who have a passion for life and who are hospitable to others and not absorbed in their own lives. An example of the overused sympathy card was clearly demonstrated in both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.   It is a great annoyance to me when politicians try to say this overused line, “We didn’t have much but what we did have was a goal/dream”.   Yes that is endearing and I am sure that the road it took them to get where they are was not easy, but the sympathy appeal to the middle class that they are trying to get at is not effective because that story is so overused.   There are certain ways of making personal anecdotes effective in speeches, but when it is just simply trying to show that they are “one of us” it comes off as insincere and as though they are trying too hard.   It is difficult to pull off the sympathy card because it is so overused.   That sort of appeal to human emotions may have worked years ago but now, in the political world, it is extremely irritating for politicians to try to get that sympathy when their main focus should be why v oting for them is better than voting for the other guy.   It’s simple and clear but yet so apparently difficult to do because of the inherent desire humans have to get sympathy.