The War for Kindness Quotes

“As the great psychologist and Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl writes, “A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being…will never be able to throw his life away. He knows the ‘why’ for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any ‘how.”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

“Fiction is empathy's gateway drug. It helps us feel for others when real-world caring is too difficult, complicated or painful. Because of this, it can restore bonds between people even when that seems impossible.”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

“Novels and stories give people the chance to experience countless lives.”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

“Bring people together, and they'll awaken to their common humanity. A similar thought led Mark Twain to quip, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

“People who believe in themselves do things that give them even more reason to believe. They adopt habits of mind that work over the long term.”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

“In his magnum opus, The Nature of Prejudice, Allport reasoned that bigotry often boils down to a lack of acquaintance. Its antidote was just as simple: Bring people together, and they’ll awaken to their common humanity. A similar thought led Mark Twain to quip, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.” In psychology, this idea came to be known as “contact theory,” and it caught fire. Allport’s book, published in 1954, became a bestseller; he delighted in spotting it at airports and malls alongside beach novels. Thanks to him, optimists everywhere came to believe that hatred was a misunderstanding and that contact could fix it.”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

“According to the Roddenberry hypothesis, empathy is a trait, locked away and impervious to our efforts. This idea jibes with common sense. Of course some people care more than others; that’s why we have saints and psychopaths.”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World

“A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being…will never be able to throw his life away. He knows the ‘why’ for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any ‘how.’ ”
― Jamil Zaki, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World