Empathy, Compassion, Beneficence

“The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.”
—Elon Musk on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast

“Empathy is dangerous, empathy is toxic, empathy will align you with hell.”
—Christian nationalist pastor Josh McPherson

Quotes like these would have once seemed laughable. But these views now, in conjunction with the current American administration’s impoverished and cruel actions, convinced us at BoomerLitMag to create a theme issue highlighting empathy/compassion/beneficence. We did so not to debate the negative descriptions of these terms, but to vigorously support literature exploring what we see as the vital and healthy qualities of empathy/compassion/beneficence. In this way, we believe we are supporting our readers through these challenging times.

Instead of empathy, what we’re now seeing writ large are the values of vengeance, tribal loyalty, and performative frugality. Just one example: USAID has saved millions of lives… each year… for 20 years, including millions of children’s lives (documented in the medical journal The Lancet, and by the Center for Global Development). And the cost—.3% of federal spending (U.S. Office of Management and Budget figure). But the funds were suddenly stopped in January 2026 in Trump’s first weeks as part of his cost-cutting and his disinterest (at best) in people from other countries.

Closer to home—in fact, in my home state of Minnesota this past winter, we witnessed, firsthand and daily, the opposite of empathy. Going far outside the usual legal and ethical guidelines to deport undocumented immigrants, masked ICE agents brutalized citizens and immigrants alike, while killing two protesters—Renee Good and Alex Pretti—who themselves had been showing empathy.

But we also saw empathy and courage rescue us. Many around the world were heartened to see the peaceful resistance in Minnesota as neighbors protected neighbors of diverse backgrounds. They brought food to those afraid to leave their homes, accompanied children to school and to medical appointments, and helped with rent payments. And hundreds of thousands marched and stood witness in spite of intimidation, arrests—and the infamous frigid temperatures. Empathy showed its own power—the U.S. administration ended its most extreme and brutal activities, if not the larger threat, and fired its two responsible leaders.

Within that context, we invite you to read three creative nonfiction works examining: an immigrant seeing through her own bias against immigrants (“Color and Movement”); exploring the inner workings of dementia (“Just Imagine”); and a sensory and thoughtful remembrance of cultural differences by an American child growing up in Vietnam (“Vietnamese Chicken”). The final two prose pieces are fiction—one from a child’s view of right and wrong (“With a Blue Car Behind Us”) and one about someone at the end of life (“Forgiveness”).

Our poetry extends the theme with concrete actions from prayerful witnessing in the aftermath of a recent school shooting (“Blessed May You Be”) to the very everyday, nitty-gritty of doing useful service (“Toenail”).

Theme issues such as this one and our previous issues devoted to “resilience” and “crossing boundaries” show that literary magazines can publish quality literature, and simultaneously, showcase and examine the complexity of foundational human qualities.

We’ll announce another theme in the next few months. Thanks to all the authors who sent their work, and thanks to you for reading BoomerLitMag. Subscribe (still free) to receive news of future issues, updates, and themes.

Be well, stay strong, help each other.
Leonard Lang, Editor

In Memoriam

All of us at BoomerLitMag have been deeply saddened by the sudden passing of one of our prose readers, Deborah Zenha-Adams. Just in our last issue, we were listing her two new chapbooks, and all seemed well. But around that time was when she received a totally unexpected terminal diagnosis. She died in February. Up to the last she was kind, generous, and ever-efficient—insisting on completing her promised magazine work in spite of her diagnosis. She wrote everyone a final email with this quote she found (attribution unknown): “… please don’t be more upset about this than I am. And bear in mind—I’m not upset at all, except for missing out on more good times with good friends.” She was grateful for her full life, and, as it turns out, ended her final large group email in line with our theme: “Be kind. Do good. Make the world softer.”

She’ll be missed here as a staff mentor and stalwart, and by our authors who often thanked her for her caring replies.

Contents

Prose on “Empathy. . .”

Mary Marchese
• Vietnamese Chicken

Julian Bentley-Edelman
• Just Imagine

Paula Durance
• Color and Movement

Anne Georg
• Forgiveness

Jan Alexander
• With a Blue Car Behind Us

Poetry on “Empathy . . .”

Eneida P. Alcalde
• Hombre del Pueblo

Patrick Cabello Hansel
• Blessed May You Be

Kathryn Kimball
• Day of Atonement as Observed by a Non-Jewish Woman

Doris Jean Lynch
• Upon Hearing the News of Your Leukemia

Jeff Burt
• Toenail

Sharon Mast
• Note to Therapist

Ken Holland
• At Last
• Permission

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