Extended Family

"Rant warning --- Thinking warning." The easily offended should leave now.


Not knowing the extended family on my fathers side got me thinking about that attitude, how it developed, and whether I still hold it unintentionally, or if I would like to know all of my extended family.

Extended family has been a common characteristics of tribal cultures, European and Irish cultures as far back as the records go. Civilization has been organized along family for the purpose of raising children for ions of time, but what has happened to the last generations of some families, and how has that effected me?

There have been issues, whether it is one brother taking advantage of other, and a dispute that sees 45 years of not speaking, and then a casual meeting, and not much said, never to speak to each other again. That soured not just one generation but two on the value of family. The second generation was soured by the remarks, and the continual criticism that I endured at the hands of my parents, especially my father. That was my reality.   

Family is only valuable when it benefits both sides of the relationship, in some way. Friendly people, ok. Being the brunt of jokes, the one being criticise, is not fun. Then family has little importance. That was likely at the heart of my insular movement, the fearful/ignore approach of society, as a whole. Now I understand, and have stopped caring about many things, and am re-evaluating my relationships with everyone, and everthing.

Religion and politics are both decisive. "You are wrong, I am right" is a common view of most religious groups, will be ultimately denied, but it shows in the efforts to convert. Until that concept is given up, the best we can hope for is peaceful co-existence. Good luck with that. Until we understand and accept that others can believe what ever they want, without caring if it is right or wrong, there will be little progress toward family peace, or world piece for that matter. There is room for a "Vulcan like" pure logic movement.

Anyways, where does all this leave me, us. Trying to understand the past, with the hope that there is a better future, but not having clear understanding of how to get there or what it will look like. It is just my first time through life and I made decisions, some known, some right, some wrong, but survived. We only talk to the survivors.

End of rant.