"To understand the frightening power of the parenthood religion, one need look no further than the 2005 essay in The New York Times by Ayelet Waldman, where the author explained that she loved her husband more than her four children. On “Oprah Where Are They Now,” the author recently reaffirmed the sentiments reflected in her New York Times article, and she added that her outlook has had a positive impact on her children by giving them a sense of security in their parents’ relationship. Following the publication of her essay, Waldman was not only shouted down by America for being a bad mother; strangers threatened her physically and told her that they would report her to child protective services. This is not how a civil society conducts open-minded discourse. This is how a religion persecutes a heretic."
This makes me think about how I automatically dismiss my parents' opinions of me, because from a young age I must have been aware that they only engaged with me in that positive way. (I mean, on some level my understanding of myself is primarily informed by my parents' opinions, but I won't believe, for example, when they compliment a terrible piece of pottery I have made)
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