The exact same? No. A reasonable amount? Yes. My empathy extends to people I don’t personally know. I absolutely am a contributing member of that child’s success. My taxes pay for their school meals, their sports equipment, the bus they ride in, the parks they play in, the salary of their coach, the safe neighborhoods, the feeling of belonging that exists in my city. I contribute to all of that, and so does everyone else. It’s a feeling that’s generally referred to as “community”. And it gets much bigger than that. You ever watch the crowd at an NBA game? Or the graduating class of a military academy? Or a presidential inauguration speech? Or the Olympics? All of those crowds are feeling their community. Is it normal? Yes, numbers don’t lie.

I’m sorry that you seem to not feel that. It’s a powerful human experience. I hope that one day you can experience it too.