Article
There is a lot missing from this election campaign, but none more important than empathy.
You want an effective leader who will do something about the issues you care about. Whether it’s cost of living, family violence, disability or mental health, in order for our leaders to take effective action, they need to have the willingness to listen and understand others’ point of view.
Our leaders rarely live through our daily struggles of navigating public transport, or disability support services. To properly fund and direct these essential social structures, they must be able to understand what you are going through.
Even if you don’t need such services now, sooner or later government policies will affect your life - in retirement, when falling ill or starting out a business. If you want social systems to work for you when you need them most, we need empathetic leaders.
Regardless of a representative’s own background or where they position themselves on the political spectrum, they must be able to think outside of their own personal experiences. No non-disabled person will ever fully understand what it’s like to navigate the world when it’s not made for you, but they can try.
As a disabled migrant, when I heard Peter Dutton’s comments about immigration, I could tell he has not listened to the immigrant and refugee communities.
A leader who talks about your priorities but lacks willingness to listen to experiences outside of their own, is unlikely to be an effective leader.
An empathetic leader is more likely to be motivated by the greater good. They are more likely to promote policies based on what people need, because empathy is a motivating emotion. Importantly, empathy improves the effectiveness of leaders.
Empathy will also allow our society to thrive by improving life for our disadvantaged. An empathetic leader who works to meet the needs of our marginalised people, will help our entire society to thrive.
When people’s needs are met, they are far more likely to be a part of our community. Conversely, when people struggle, they are more likely to behave in an antisocial manner. When people are excluded, discriminated against and disenfranchised, they are far more likely to become antisocial, which of course hurts all of us.
Empathy in our voting, and in our leaders, will create a better society for us all. While my communities are often under attack in this campaign, I hold onto the hope that we all have capacity for empathy.
When I cast my vote, I will be thinking of our leaders’ empathy, and I hope you will too.