It may well be … and they like dogs.
I agree with much of what you say here, actually. It is hard to actually love people in this day and age. We think of love as something that is happy, fun, romantic, and so on thanks to popular media portrayal but real love is sacrifice. Often those who say they love everyone in a flippant way merely love the idea of people rather than actual people.
My mother is an addict. Alcohol and opioid medications have been her primary focus. When I was six years old, my father hanged himself and left her to raise me. She had help - Knights of Columbus, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and family where possible. She hid her addictions well enough, for a time but I was always like a replacement father figure too. Dealing with her when she is in the throes of addiction can be like dealing with a child: bargaining, fibbing, temper tantrums, her saying hurtful things or threatening and apologizing later for it. I didn’t think it affected me back then. I let it roll of my back. Still, having your mother tell you she hates you because you won’t let her have more medication that say had (and still has) a bite to it when it happens.
She is doing better. In a 12 Step program for the alcohol and I keep her medication for the rheumatoid arthritis locked up with her blessing. Most days. Some days it is rough and she will bargain, bribe, grow belicose, and we do the same dance again.
It would be easy to hate her for dating a guy who beat me unconscious several times over my tenth year in the world. It would be easy to resent her too. Would be easy to resent the babysitter she hired who molested me when I was seven and eight and easy to justify hating her by claiming she was too self absorbed to protect me. Easy to call my dad a coward and hate him for leaving me. Easy to hate the world and God and blame them for all of the hardships I suffer. And I have, in moments of weakness.
You ever hear of Saint Therese, the Little Flower? She is one of my favorite Saints. I may no longer walk in the auspices of the Church but I will still say prayers and novena to her from time to time. She had a pretty hard life but still loved. Died of a horrid illness while others around her had good long lives, yet I don’t recall her ever being resentful in the quotes from her in life. She could have envied the other nuns she worked with for being the lucky ones, but she didn’t. There is this great story where she worked across on laundry from another woman who kept splashing her with nasty water and she became thankful for the experience rather than angry, even.
I reckon if Saint Therese could do it then God can probably do it pretty easily too. I have met ignorant people who consume stuff and experiences to fill voids in their lives, hurt people who harm themselves and others to try and make the pain stop, miserable people whose lack of hope in humanity and themselves drive them to childish selfishness, and many more whose imperfections have doomed them such as the aforementioned sociopath whose neurological disorder cuts them away from conscience and love. Never have I met a person who I would judge as evil, though. Perhaps it is just wishful thinking on my part. Maybe I am the sick one. Guess we will find out, eventually.
