I remember hearing, from some priest or nun, back when I was a kid, that the unique ability that Jesus had was to know and empathize instantly with whomever he met. Whoever introduced me to this notion related it to love—to Jesus’ ability to be vastly, unlimitedly loving. I was really taken by this; it seemed like the greatest superpower of all. And it would be a very novelistic gift—to be able to suspend judgment so completely that you could almost become the other person. All disapproval or distance would vanish. In a sense, all violence would disappear. If you are coming from a place of total understanding, what can you oppose?
~ George Saunders
From "George Saunders and the Meaning of Mind" in The New Yorker, June 5, 2023