It was probably 1973 and Gary and I were managing the apartment building while we were students at the University of Washington. I was just twenty years old when we had dinner with the owners of a cat we liked, Slump. Slump’s people were educated and had traveled and in the course of the meal I began talking about an horrifying situation, a news story about abuse of women in an Eastern European country. Gary recalls this and also Tom’s response: “What do you care? You don’t know those women.”

Mitch McConnell does not understand why Jon Stewart is so upset about the failure of Congress to make adequate provisions for First Responders who were exposed to toxic substances while protecting and rescuing people, and later bodies, from the Two Towers after 911. He didn’t get why Stewart was “all bent out of shape” about caring for these sick and dying men and women. (You might recall that First Responders were assured they were in no danger from toxins, which was later revealed to be a lie from the Bush administration.)

“I want to make it clear that this has never been dealt with compassionately by Senator McConnell,” the former Daily Show host said. “He has always held out until the very last minute and only then, under intense lobbying and public shaming has he even deigned to move on it.”

Why, McConnell wonders, does Stewart care so much?

Why should anyone care about anything that does not directly impact them?

I would like to think most Americans would be as confused (if not downright horrified) as Stewart feels. Compassion is not dealt out evenly, but a complete lack of it is puzzling to me. We are seeing it a lot lately, these men and women who have so recently entered politics, this current regime devoted only to power and position.

But still. As you do unto the least of these . . . why is that so mystifying?