the-circle-of-concern-is-drawn-by-likeness

# The circle of concern is drawn by likeness We can bear the suffering of those who are basically like us, and little beyond. The circle of real concern is drawn by likeness, by language, by nearness, and it does not widen of its own accord to take in the stranger. So one death close to home can outweigh a thousand far away, and the grief we perform can quietly keep us at the centre rather than carry us out of it. To widen the circle is not the natural motion of the heart but a discipline worked against its grain. Related: [[relational-effect-does-not-depend-on-scale]], [[humanitys-guilt-is-interconnected]], [[the-soul-becomes-what-it-attends-to]]