Gad Saad warns that inappropriate sympathy leads to the destruction of Western civilization

From the response on Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas to the perspective of gender and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI), author and scholar Gad Saad warns that Western civilization is on the verge of collapse. In his new book, “Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind,” Saad argues that the West has taken empathy into a dangerous position by prioritizing the expression of ideological virtue over truth and common sense.

“I’m not at all arguing that empathy is a bad thing, but as Aristotle explained to us a few thousand years ago, all things are good in moderation,” Saad told Fox News Digital.

“If you don’t have empathy at all, you might be a psychopath, if you’re too empathetic, if you hyperactivate, if it directs the wrong people to the wrong situations, that becomes suicidal empathy,” he explained.

Saad points to the West’s response after Hamas’ Oct. 7 in Israel as an example of that incident, noting that sympathy quickly shifted to Israel’s victims as criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza grew.

REJECTED MUSLIM SCHOLAR WARNS ISLAMIC UNION AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS WATCHES IRAN’S RISE.

“You wouldn’t have thought that the dirty orgiastic killing of 1,200 people, mainly Jewish people … the worst killing of Jews in one day since the Holocaust would have given the world the opportunity to show sympathy to the Jews. Yes, alas, as we soon found out, October 7 was forgotten,” said Saad.

For Saad, Israel’s backsliding after the Hamas attack reflected a shift in ideology that has been taking place in the West for decades. He argued that misplaced compassion eventually evolves into what he calls “civilizational seppuku,” referring to the historical suicides associated with Japanese samurai.

According to Saad, many of these ideas started in universities and later spread to politics, media and culture. The result, he said, is a culture that is increasingly uncomfortable with precise definitions of what were once considered basic concepts, such as gender.

“When you’re completely infected, you end up with your latest addition to the US Supreme Court, you don’t have the confidence to say, ‘Oh, of course I know what a woman is,'” he said, referring to the infamous timing of Justice Katanji Brown Jackson’s 2022 impeachment trial.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked Jackson to define the word “woman.” Jackson refused, saying “I’m not a biologist.”

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Saad scoffed at Jackson’s response, saying that ordinary people see obvious truths without needing special expertise.

EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGIST WARNS AMERICA IS DYING ‘SUICIDAL’ AFTER MARK HAMILL HEADSTONE POSTED

“With that it makes sense, the next time I have to choose which type of Belgian shepherd to bring into my home, I’d better seek the help of a veterinarian. Because I would rather choose a giraffe for my Belgian shepherd, because I don’t have the expertise to distinguish between a four-legged giraffe and a quadrupedal dog.”

While Saad considers the debate absurd on its face, he believes the worldview behind it can have serious real-world consequences, such as anti-Semitism.

“A society that normalizes anti-Semitism is showing serious signs of moral decay,” he told Fox News Digital.

Saad, who is Jewish, was born in Lebanon but fled the country with his family in 1975 during the civil war and eventually settled in Canada. He told Fox News Digital that when he was in Canada, he did not experience antisemitism until 1998, adding that since then “it has been increasing at an incredible rate.” While working as a professor at Concordia University, Saad announced that he will take a leave of absence in 2024.

Anti-Israel students sit on the center lawn at Columbia University in New York City on April 21, 2024, as part of a campus protest. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

DEMOCRAT PROFESSOR REFRESHES STANDARDS TO CHALLENGE WORKFORCE RULING AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES

“It was very difficult, you know, for a Jewish professor who is outspoken in defending the Jewish people to just walk into the school,” Saad said. He added that the atmosphere became so great that he felt compelled to “read a warning on the proverbial walls.”

“If you allow open hatred like that to kill people by group, it never has a good result,” he said.

Saad currently works as a scholar at the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi and will be a distinguished professor there next year.

With the election of President Donald Trump, many thought that the ideas behind DEI and gender theory were dead, but Saad warned that there is only so much one president can do and stressed the importance of medium- and long-term solutions. He noted that while political momentum can change quickly, real cultural change takes time.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM

Even with the apparent pushback against these ideas, Saad still meets professors who are afraid to speak up. He told Fox News Digital that he’s seen a steady increase in the number of professors emailing him praising his work, but many of them end their messages with a request to remain anonymous if he chooses to share them.

“The fact that you wrote such a cowardly last sentence in your email suggests that few people are still willing to pick up this fight and actually fight this fight,” he said.