With all do respect, I don't think the purpose of this thread was to begin a spiel about the ethics and logic of going to or being in a war, or whether or not we should have feelings for those who are in a war.

So... for the sake of resuming the topic discussion... I agree with ladoctora's statement that empathy is beneficial to the species. I, however, disagree with the car accident analogy. Although I am otherwise incapable of most emotions including "caring," I will, nonetheless, aid in preserving the lives of those in a car accident. I'm actually a better candidate to be savior than those emotion capable folk. That is, those emotion capable folk are more likely to be overwhelmed by horror and grief and will hesitate to take action. I, on the other hand, will act automatically and efficiently without being hindered by emotions. I see what needs to be done and I react; I don't second guess out of fear or whatever else you people have to deal with...

Point in case - Ted Bundy, before his fall into murderous endeavors, dove into a lake and saved the life of a young girl who was drowning. Without his courageous act, she would have certainly died. Did he care about the girl? Not necessarily. He wasn't capable of such things. He merely saw an opportunity and took it.