Acts of shocking cruelty seem horrific and beyond the border of basic humanity. But the dehumanizing mindset that permits them may be reversible.

How could someone do that to another human being?

It’s a question that surfaces whenever we encounter acts that defy empathy: an immigration officer separating a child from their parents, a soldier shooting an unarmed civilian in the name of genocide, a prison guard forcing an inmate to eat dog food naked, a driver speeding through a group of protesters with different political beliefs.