Full disclosure: Jack Weyland, who turned 80 last week, is my father.
Orson Scott Card has said of writers: “We don’t see anything better. We just say things about it better.”
To a certain extent, I agree with Mr. Card. We value writers for being able to see the same things everyone sees, and to communicate them eloquently and honestly. However, I believe writers do see the world better. Keen observation leads to empathy and insights into inner and outer worlds of others. A skillful writer will then share these insights with readers, giving readers a chance to expand their own empathy. For example, it was empathy that allowed my father to imagine the apprehension felt by the title character of “Charly,” an East Coast intellectual, during her conversion experience in Utah.
Sometimes, empathy will actually change our point of view. Other times, empathy will allow us to adopt an unexpected position on something we hadn’t thought of deeply before. In “The Samaritan Bueno,” my father drew on his experiences of getting to know immigrant communities. The book gently highlights the difficult and precarious position of undocumented immigrants, and the need for rational immigration reform. But it does so primarily through the eyes of one young man who comes to know, care for and love one immigrant family.
Of all the things my father has taught me over the years, I think empathy is the lesson I would wish for the world right now. I highly recommend it. And we’re going to need it for the foreseeable future.
Bradley Jack Weyland
London, England