Theresa May's Resignation Speech and the Historical Erosion of Empathy

As Theresa May stood at the podium to deliver her resignation speechin 2019, her voice cracked with emotion. For the first time in her long tenure as Prime Minister, she may have revealed a glimmer of humanity, a chink in the armor of her trademark stoicism. And yet, in a stunning display of the times in which we live, many quickly dismissed her tears as insincere, as the wrong kind of emotion. It's a sad commentary on the state of our political discourse that vulnerability and empathy are now seen as political liabilities rather than essential leadership qualities.

May's utter lack of these traits was a hallmark of her disastrous premiership. Impervious to reality, deeply unsympathetic, and tone deaf, she squandered every opportunity for compromise. Those who have had the misfortune of meeting her will attest that she has little grasp of what it means to be human. In an era where facts are optional and feelings are scorned, May's reign was the perfect embodiment of this toxic trend. Her resignation speech may have featured tears, but they rang hollow. They seemed less a display of empathy for the country and more a selfish lament for her own failed ambitions.

It's unlikely May's tears were anything more than a fleeting glimpse of her own shattered ego and the larger tragedy is the society we've become. A world where a glimpse of basic human emotion from a political leader is so rare as to be deemed suspicious. Where empathy becomes a perceived dirty word and compromise is falsely painted as sign of perceived weakness.

In this bleak landscape, the following chapter of British politics looked to be even more divisive and unsympathetic than the one before. Theresa May was a dreadful Prime Minister, but her failures run deeper than just policy. She is a symptom of a greater disease, one that has infected us all. In her endless quest to win a culture war, politicians had forgotten the value of compassion, of putting oneself in another's shoes. Until they ever rediscover those simple virtues, Theresa's tears will remain an empty, hollow gesture - and our future a grim one indeed.