#EmpathyFirst

I’ve never been good at being idle. I am not one to go on a beach vacation and spend hours lounging by the pool. I dread airport seating or, worse, sitting on the plane. But I love a good road trip, talking with strangers, sitting in back-to-back movies, and people-watching in New York City. When Covid came along, those seemingly innocuous things suddenly became threatening actions that could jeopardize our health and safety, so what was I to do with my time? People have a fairly short memory. They remember the bold strokes, i.e., people getting sick, an inordinate amount of people, the morgue truck in New York City, the president suggesting we drink Clorox, the battle between to mask or no to mask, the fact that none of this seemed to affect Florida.

But they tend to forget seemingly small details, the more cerebral experience, the intangible sense of loss and confusion.

During the lockdown, I decided to begin collecting stories of people doing good things; of course, the big companies leveraged the opportunity as any good marketer should. And while we can all get on our soapboxes about the opportunistic ease to which multi-billion-dollar corporations suddenly morph into philanthropic people-caring institutions, the reality is that help is help, and money is needed in times of crisis. And when has toilet paper ever gotten the recognition it deserves? So in my idle time or my desire not to have idle time, I collected up my stories into one place and called it #EmpathyFirst. My hope is that people would want to look back and remember those companies and people who did something, those who took action and showed empathy. And maybe in the coming elections, if we can ever get back to fair elections we vote empathetically, and we find the power in our pocket to vote with every dollar we spend. #EmpathyFirst