Questioning the family
“You write: “In the traditional family the children belong
to their parents, who have legal power over them. The children are isolated
from the rest of society; they have to respect their parents, regardless of
what the parents actually do, they have to obey their parents and to be loyal
towards them. And the parents, often with the help of the state, can do almost
everything to subdue their children; they can use the whole range of physical
and mental tortures against their children.”
You certainly are right but why shouldn't we be able to
change the patterns of the family instead of rejecting family altogether? And
what do you suggest instead of the institution family? A child needs a mother
and a father, but of course they don't need the hypocrisy, the abuse, the
exploitation and the terror. We must work on enlightening parents so that
families become the place of safety, truth, love and honest communication. We
can't do this by writing nice words but by informing parents that they disguise
the brutality they endured as children by denying it and repeating it
carelessly on their children. In this way they protect their parents and
produce violent people, again and again. I agree with you that families based
on this system are the source of violence in our society and I do what I can to
make this visible.” Alice Miller ~ From Rage to Courage, page, 75 and 76
Read more HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment