> I am sad, but not just for the mother, also for the daughters. And not just because they longed for their mother’s love that never arrived, but they found themselves in this artificial moral system that forces them to account for who deserves what, and justifies the anger they now have to live with. As if the anger is a gain, rather than a burden.
> I wish her peace. And hope she discovers it’s a much better live with forgiveness and generosity, and no regard for who deserves what. It was thieves and thievery all along, and it still is.
I don't know if I agree with this take. The basic issue of the article is that the "artificial moral system" that's being imposed is essentially what's saying that they need to both take care of and forgive their mother.
If you simply opt out of that moral system I'm not sure why they would be expected to take care of their unloving mother any more than they would take care of any stranger with dementia, but clearly taking care of their mother is the more "generous" choice.
So it seems to me like the anger is the result of a fundamental conflict within the author's values that can't be avoided simply by rejecting externally imposed morality.
> I wish her peace. And hope she discovers it’s a much better live with forgiveness and generosity, and no regard for who deserves what. It was thieves and thievery all along, and it still is.
I don't know if I agree with this take. The basic issue of the article is that the "artificial moral system" that's being imposed is essentially what's saying that they need to both take care of and forgive their mother.
If you simply opt out of that moral system I'm not sure why they would be expected to take care of their unloving mother any more than they would take care of any stranger with dementia, but clearly taking care of their mother is the more "generous" choice.
So it seems to me like the anger is the result of a fundamental conflict within the author's values that can't be avoided simply by rejecting externally imposed morality.