How a society reveres the weakest among us defines who we really are as a people. The weakest among us cannot give back, cannot help us, and cannot even thank us. The weakest among us have no voice, have no position, and have no influence. How we treat the weakest among us reveals our true selves and our respect for each other. As we help the weakest among us, who cannot respond in kind, we see our true ability to empathize.

As Captain G. M. Gilbert said after interviewing defendants at the Nuremburg trials, “Evil, I think, is the lack of empathy.” Therefore, empathy for the weakest among us is the true measure of one’s ability for goodness and compassion. And empathy for the weakest among us is therefore a measure of our virtue and therefore who we really are. The unborn child is the weakest among us.

Mark McClain

Groton