We Had a Chance, And Then We Didn’t

For the loser now will be later to win for the times they are a-changin

Bob Dylan

Our community’s Fourth of July annual dog pageant was met with great anticipation. Would this be the year that our Yorkie, a two-time loser, take the prize?

While she has no repertoire of tricks- in fact none- she does, however, look smashing in a dress. Her recent coiffed “puppy cut” also gave hope. The 4th of July dress (reused from last year and purchased at a discount) was a banger. She simply looked marvelous as ever. A real princess! This year, we hoped to avoid last year’s contest surprise; a visiting well-trained Belgian Malinois was crowned the top dog.

Starting in early June, we began psychologically motivating our dog. The incessant complements and praise appeared to boost her self-esteem; we had hope.

On the big day, we put on her dress and she marched down to the park in lady-like fashion. Things were looking good. Even though she was a dog, she possessed the eye of a tiger.

Upon registering, something caught my attention. My next-door neighbor was in possession of a three-legged dog. The particular dog was one they frequently dog sat. In previous encounters, however, it had always had four legs. And now, three!

Sheer cuteness was simply not going to prevail over an elderly three-legged dog. Just when I thought it was all over, it got worse! In presenting the dogs, we learned of the dog’s tragic back story. He had run out of a car into traffic and was injured. An amputation was required to treat him. Now, it was almost officially over. We were more cooked than all of the competition chili! Ouch!

The Big Take-Away

Sympathy plays a powerful role in human decision making.

In many circumstances, victims of tragedies garner sympathy. As I experienced, even a silly dog contest can be heavily influenced by compassion.

Sympathy acts as a disruptor. It can shape re-shape beliefs. It has the power to cause individuals to abandon logic.

Sympathy’s great power is not lost upon those in the persuasion business. Thus, victimhood, a means of garnering sympathy, is an effective tool to change or influence opinion. As there are many skilled individuals in the persuasion business, there are times when victims compete for sympathy.

Even worse, sympathy is so powerful that people, who are not victims, that latch onto victims. They want the sympathy. These people enjoy standing in the victim’s shoes and wield the power of sympathy. It becomes a bizzaro Stockholm Syndrome. They transform themselves into a victim to heighten the righteous experience of wielding the persuasive power of sympathy. It can be an intoxicating.

Conclusion

Sympathy’s power was well understood by the Torah’s author. Leviticus 19:15 cautions that “you shall not be partial to a weak person and you shall not favor a big person.” This instruction taps into the need to be unaffected by sympathy in judgment.

Have I learned anything? Of course! Next year, our dearest dog will be paraded out as a three-time loser! How sympathetic is that? She will then become the top dog and get first choice of the pet toys handed out.

Be well!

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