Fake empathy is an oxymoron. To have an exchange of empathy is to have a truly authentic experience. I think it is pretty off-base that the writer found her way to empathy through using generic phrases. I don't doubt that she did uncover her inner empathy-- but perhaps she should re-evaluate how she arrived there. I think that half of the battle is being able to accept that sometimes it is okay to just not give a damn. There are times when I honestly don't give a damn, and I have decided to stop feeling guilty about my feelings. Besides, how can you have empathy towards another when you can't even validate or accept your own negative feelings? I also don't believe empathy is something that you can "try" to arrive at. I know that I can be an incredibly empathic person-- sometimes too much. And sometimes I just don't give a damn. I'm okay with both.