“Does War Change How We View Empathy?” To answer this question in simple terms. Yes, war does change how we view empathy and perceive others. Human beings are not taught how to reload an artillery shell or how to unload a mustard gas chamber, we are capable of inflicting violence on one another but we do not enter the world with those intentions. These views are always taught, because of the war soldiers had to have a lack of empathy. You cannot show the enemy mercy. Empathy causes soldiers to be fatigued easily, and even more weak than before. This is why war veterans who have been at battle for so long forgot how to function sometimes when it comes to feeling other peoples’ emotions. They have been bred to be restless in battle, the last thing on their minds is whether or not the enemy team on the other side of the front is okay. The ability to empathize is gradually damaged as war fatigue consumes someone’s body. Empathy is normally taught as a kid, when we watch scary movies and the main characters are scared, when we see our loved ones become sad so we reflect that emotion, so on and so forth but as war continues, your empathy dies slowly. You’re numb to the feeling. The way your calloused hands grip your rifle doesn’t phase you. The war has turned you into something no kid would ever imagine becoming in a million years.