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[cagedwriter61]

Just something I wrote in my own journal.

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So here I am again, wasting away time, waiting for it to be 8 or so before I go to bed. Currently, I'm thinking about family.

Comments

[maggiebloome]

That is interesting, but I think there's a couple of points you haven't considered.

For example, I don't think there's anything special about blood. I know a lot of people whose blood relations are frankly shite. They're restrictive assholes or they just don't give a damn, they didn't want kids in the first place or they just had them because they were expected to, or they're just plain selfish. It's a bit of a vicious cycle in that respect, and it sucks for the people who wake up and find there's nowhere to go.

The family bonds that matter? That's not blood, that is, as you said, proximity. You grow up with someone, you know almost as well as yourself, that's special. You can have that with a neighbor as easily as a brother, if you have the opportunity - if your parents don't move house every few years, if you happen to live near someone your age that matches your personality

[thirdblindmouse]

There are so many questions to be answered: what is the nature of cousin relationships? Should we love our cousins? How deep should our love be? Why are they special? Why are they different? Why do I feel such a forceful pull toward mine?

They are like siblings without the daily friction one tends to have with one's siblings growing up. Family that's close enough for comfort, but distant enough for airspace.

What if we actually lived in a world where friendship sat atop the social pyramid as the most important and valued form of love?

Easy: we would live in a far better world. Unfortunately, I don't see our society getting there any time soon.