Originally Posted by
Aussie2B
Wow, that's gotta be one of the most cynical things I've read in a LONG time. I'm genuinely sorry that your family relationships must be so sour to the extent to give you such a view on family bonds.
As for why parents deserve respect, how about the fact that they raise you, make sacrifices for you, spend an inordinate amount of money on you, deal with every annoying, stupid, or distressing thing you've ever done, and in general put you ahead of them? Sure, there are some fucked up parents who don't do these things, but the vast majority do.
Nobody is perfect, not even parents. They're human like the rest of us, so some of the things they do are wrong. Sometimes they do things that are hurtful or hypocritical, sure, but if you save your love only for people who are absolutely perfect, you're going to be pretty damn lonely in life. That's why people talk about "unconditional love" when discussing family. They see your flaws but still love you in spite of them. I don't care how close two friends are, you can't trust a friend to always stay by your side like a loving family member. I've even had a friend who went on and on about how he saw me like family, only to cut me off the second I said something that pissed him off. Family isn't so fickle. You can only truly count on your family and spouse in life; nobody else will ever care about you in quite the same way. And I really pity anyone unfortunate enough to not have a good relationship with family, especially if you get bitter to the point of not even being willing to put in the effort to nurture good family relationships yourself (better to try and get rejected, since at least you have a chance, than to automatically write people off and have zero chance of things improving).