"The Heart of Empathy" Anonymous

In my eyes, the essence of Pro Humanitate, "for humanity," lies directly in the word itself - human. The most important thing to remember about ourselves is that we are all human. Infinitely diverse in our nationalities, experiences, political beliefs, and perspectives, we are all thinking, breathing, living human beings. As Shylock testifies in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, "Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same water and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?" (Act III, scene i). Humanity will always share this common bond. Our struggles may not be the same, but we are struggling together. And for as long as this is true, it is our duty to relate to our fellow man.

Several recent events have exemplified our capacity for relating to others. In the wake of the devastating hurricane on the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005 and the Asian tsunami in 2004, the world rose together in support for victims. Donations of money and...