Empathy describes the ability to put oneself into the position of the other and feel what they do.
Sympathy is feeling bad for someone else and can make a person want to help them.
However in this modern society where we say we care for one another. We have too much sympathy and not enough empathy. Sympathy goes towards less fortunate people however empathy goes towards everyone equally. We have people nowadays who use their biased sympathy to make decisions that ruin the lives of countless others. The modern generations lack empathy and thus they cannot understand each others perspectives or stances. We have lost the ability to look at the argument from the other side. A good example is the migrant crisis. Europe is a mess and the imbeciles keep inviting the migrants in. If strangers started showing up on your lawn with guns, knives and bombs. Would you be happy if your daughter let them into the house because they looked sad?
Sympathy is vastly less important than empathy. If we lose the ability to understand each other, we lose tolerance and the ability to co-exist.
So is it true that we have become too sympathetic and not empathetic enough?
It seems like you're describing the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath.
No. This has nothing to do with either a psychopath or a sociopath. The question is only discussing the probable cause regarding why most people are too quick to react before thinking. Allowing their emotions to drive them instead of utilizing their intelligence.