They all lack empathy for each other in The Giver because everyone is supposed to be the same. If you can't experience love, pain, or sadness then you can't have empathy for someone who is. You can't "put yourself in someone else's shoes"if you don't know what it is.
An example from the book is when Jonas's father is releasing the twin baby. When he injects the medicine into the babies forehead, it wriggles and cries in pain. His father says to the baby that he knows it hurts and that it will soon be over with. But his father doesn't really know what it feels like.
Jonas starts to empathize for others because he can experience all of the feelings and emotions. He can feel the pain of people in war, all the way to the love of a family spending Christmas together. He knows more than all the other people. Hopefully one day their community will change and they will be able to feel empathy for eachother.
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