In discussing mercy's role in 21st-century culture wars, the article reveals contrasting moral circles of liberals and conservatives. It illustrates how conservatives predominantly focus their moral concern on immediate family and country, while liberals extend their compassion to abstract concerns far removed from personal proximity. This division crystallizes in the context of USAID shutdown discussions, where the maps of moral concern serve as ammunition for conservative arguments against liberal prioritization of distant issues over local concerns. The stark ideological divides highlight how compassion is viewed as a finite resource tied to individual beliefs.
The quality of mercy is not strained," argues Portia in The Merchant of Venice, meaning there should be no limits to being kind and forgiving. But 21st century culture wars are no Shakespeare play.
A moral circle represents the groups of people and entities one considers worthy of moral concern. Both ideological tribes inhabit moral universes that aren't merely different - they're almost entirely opposite.
Conservatives tend to concentrate their moral concern on the 'closest' moral circles: family and country. Meanwhile, liberals generally focus on the more distant and abstract categories.
The maps seem to perfectly illustrate a conservative point: Liberals expend Americans' limited reserves of care and compassion abroad, ignoring the needs of those nearer.
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