Feeling empathy for Genghis Khan

Empathy.
That’s normally thought of as the ability to put oneself in another person’s position. It’s part skill and part common sense, although I am not 100% certain that understanding the emotions of others necessarily requires an ability to feel them as that person might. Try as I might to understand why Hitler hated Jews, I cannot vicariously “feel” hatred towards Jews, because it just isn’t there.
Empathy is a big topic. Just today, an Inquirer Op-Ed titled “Try listening – you may hear something surprising” challenged readers to empathize with people from other races and classes:

I’ve wondered what the owners of million-dollar homes would lose if they spoke without condescension to their flooring contractor. I wonder whether they realize that, when disdaining to acknowledge this “other” person,
At one time, my own reaction to prejudice was angry disdain. There was a time when I would proclaim, “There are days when I hate white people.” Some people I know dislike rich people just on principle.
But that, too, is a kind of prejudice, a refusal to be open. So my final question (and in part, I’m asking it of myself) is: With what attitude could we replace the at-arm’s-length treatment and the angry disdain?

Good questions. It’s always a good idea to get as much information as possible before jumping to conclusions. (What, for example, should our attitude be towards flooring contractors who happen to own million-dollar homes?)
Some academics — like this law professor — consider empathy a “value” that should be taught.
Anyway, what prompted this topic was an epic foreign film I saw last night — “Mongol,” which painted an unconventional portrait of Genghis Khan. As I watched the story of how a wretchedly abused child grew into a loving, misunderstood family man who tried to unite his messed up people, I found myself empathizing with “Temudjin.” Or would that be Genghis? How about Mr. Khan? Really, I did. Perhaps Senator Kerry’s remark about his fellow soldiers behaving in a manner reminiscent of the man should be viewed through the new lens of empathy.
But was I really feeling empathy towards Genghis Khan? Or was it the actor’s portrayal?
The problem is that not only are historical details murky, but let’s face it, Genghis Khan is the kind of guy Americans normally think of as something other than nice. Not only was he a ruthless conquerer, but his personal touches included doing things like pouring molten silver into the ears and eyes to execute a prisoner, slaughtering entire villages, and you know, laying waste and committing genocide.
It challenges and broadens the mind to make an attempt at empathy with such a guy. I’ve even tried empathizing with Stalin, Hitler, Mao, and Pol Pot, but always with mixed results. One of the problems with empathy is that too many people confuse understanding with forgiving and forgetting. Another stubborn issue is that most of these awful tyrants were not only profoundly evil, they had psychopathic personalities, which means that they were incapable of empathy.
But empathy is not supposed to be a two way street. Maybe the real test of empathy is the ability to empathize with people wholly lacking in the ability to empathize.
(On the other hand, it might be a bit like trying to empathize with a Great White Shark. It’s always good to understand. But how far does it go?)