Surely you aren't speaking for everybody here?

We have become an extremely self centered society. So it is not surprising to me that empathy is rare. It's hard enough to find sympathy. You have to be able to set aside your own needs and feelings in order to truly understand the needs and feelings of another. We talk a lot more about it than we use to, but seem to do it a lot less. I find that very interesting...sad...but interesting.

A very few people really don't empathize with others. They have some issues. Just ignore those bitches. But the majority would be more than willing to give you a helping hand in your darkest hour.

I do :)

Most people do have some level of empathy. There are people who are uncomfortable expressing it, either because it seems "weak" to do so or they feel it won't be appreciated. People who have no empathy at all are very rare, and usually have a personality disorder of some kind.

Who cares! No really. Who does care? I agree that this is an issue in our society. I can only try my best to help and comfort as many people that I can. I wish I could do more.

It depends on the situation. If you know someone, you are more likely to empathise. If the person is a stranger, you find it harder. It also depends on your upbringing. My mother could empathise strongly with her cousin who lost everything in Cyclone Tracey in 1972, but she found it impossible to empathise with people she did not know in similar situations. It was becuase her family was large and extended, but insular. She was taught to help those she knew, but helping those she didn't know was another thing. As a Christian, however, I have been taught by my faith to empathise with all sorts of people. TO the point that even if it is someone I do not particulary get on with, if someone picks on them, I will still step in. I find this a lot with other Christians too.

There's sort of two forces at work pulling in opposite directions: on the one hand, we have ego -- a closed-in kind of self which is all about protecting and promoting individuality. The theme song for ego is "Me, Me, Me", and it really is not interested in others EXCEPT in self-centered terms: e.g. I'll be nice to you if I get something out of it in some way. Some of the rewards are subtle and hard to see, but they're present if you look closely. The other force is "true self": a kind of natural beingness which recognizes the interconnectedness of all humanity (and all of life as a whole, too). For most of us this lives as a semi-conscious intuition that somehow we all belong to something larger than any individual. Some people think of this "larger whole" as God, or "absolute reality", etc. This true being is the source of empathy: our ability to respond generously and compassionately to the suffering of others. So ego and true self are both operating in all of us, in varying degrees at different times. Our motives are often a combination of these two forces, which can make them very complicated to parse: e.g. I gave some money to charity, genuinely concerned, but I was also gratified when they put my name on the top donors list. Both motives at work. This is the way it always is with all of humanity: spiritual development is just shifting the balance from primarily ego-driven motives to primarily authentic motives. That's what religion is supposed to be working on, and in fact that's what all of us are supposed to be working on. The more you understand that and promote that, the more effect you can have on the issue.