GOTCHA!

I don’t hate anyone. 

Really. I have to try my hardest, but at my best- when I am most heart-centered, grounded, connected to my higher self, and rationale- I don’t even allow myself to hate the worst, most oppressive, genocidal authoritarians. Thinking, feeling, acting, and believing in this way to avoid hate is ideal. It is part of my understanding of Christ Consciousness and Wholiness as I explained in the Goodness vs Evil essay.

I believe Christ Consciousness is thinking, feeling, and acting like Jesus Christ who was a man, spiritual teacher, and divine spiritual being of love for all, compassion for all, and community for all. That is the Jesus Christ I learned from my catechesis and confirmation process, my parents, other Family Mass members, and MANY Franciscans at my alma mater Viterbo University. THEY ALL TOLD ME THE SAME THING. That was a gigantic advantage I had growing up and as a young man. And I will bet you $1,000,000 Trillion Dollars that the Chicago Pope and Pope Francis would agree. Love, compassion, and the gift of community to all. That was JC. If that isn’t what you’re talking about then it’s not Christ-like enough for me.

Hatred is a form of evil and (like 99.9% of humanity) I believe we should strive to evolve to a place where our country and this world is less evil. 

The evil of the world sure fills me with immense rage and sadness when I let it but I also deeply believe that- even at the most extreme levels of systemic evil on this planet where political decisions lead to genocidal military violence and poverty- the original victims of evil are always the perpetrators of evil. The perpetrator of evil’s belief systems are the first victims of the perpetrator’s evil.  Hence, the Problem of Evil. 

Justice is so important. Stopping evil, caring for the other victims of evil, and holding the perpetrators of evil accountable based on our laws and social contacts. That’s justice. All of that is super important. But justice doesn’t make the world a better place than it was before the evil happened. Justice isn’t enough.

Justice, when correctly applied, attempts to restore the world to a place similar to where it was before the evil occurred. And in most moderate, severe, and extreme cases of evil that is impossible. For example, at the most extreme level, we cannot bring victims of genocide back from the dead. A true sense of justice is hard for any society to maintain.  

That’s why wisdom is even more important than justice in many cases. Justice is for today. Wisdom is for tomorrow. Wisdom and only wisdom provides the knowledge and insights we need to prevent evil in the future AND provide individuals and societies with greater Goodness and Wholiness. 

Systemic Wisdom allows us to ask:

What belief systems was the perpetrator of evil acting in response to?

What do we have to do as a country and species to collectively evolve beyond those evil belief systems? 

Hating things, getting angry at things- even the most evil things in existence- doesn’t make the world less evil. Hatred and anger at evil things only harmonizes with and mimics evil. This is how evil tricks compassionate humans into becoming evil. This is how evil has power over loving, caring, and compassionate humans and continues to win. Compassionate humans subconsciously say it and think it: “I feel justified in my hatred, rage, and depression about the horrific evils of the world.” But justice doesn’t even make the world less evil than it was before the evil act happened. Only wisely changing, improving, and evolving belief systems and corresponding social, political, and economic systems to avoid more evil in the future makes the world less evil than it was before the evil act happened. 

In other words, justice can’t be the end goal. It’s not enough. It’s actually quite limited in the longterm. Without the implementation of systemic wisdom, humanity is doomed to live in the same violent and destructive cycles individually and collectively.  

Ghandi said something similar and echoed these limitations of justice when he wisely said, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”

Martin Luther King jr. wisely said something similar when he noted, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." 

If you deeply believe and accept the wisdom in those above quotes, you cannot hate. You must think, feel, and believe in the truths above and beyond the justifiable hatred, anger, and sadness. You must ask, how can I transform or evolve the perpetrator’s evil belief system? You have to empathize with the original victim of evil- the perpetrator of evil- to find the systemic solution to evil. Or you and your society is doomed to stay in cycles of hatred, rage, and sadness. Break those cycles. Become obsessed with the systemic solutions.

Thus, I shall not hate. I shall work to evolve belief systems.

So there is no list of people I hate. But here is a list of humans I think are good.