You Didn't Choose Your Family, and That's Why It Still Controls You

1 week ago

Many families around the world behave like a cult. Not all of them. But enough of them that the similarity is no longer a coincidence. A cult has a leader. A family has elders whose word ends the argument. A cult has rules nobody wrote down. So does a family: don't ask about him, don't embarrass us, don't question your father. A cult has a story about why it is special. So does a family. A cult has a punishment for leaving. So does a family — sometimes shouting, sometimes silence, sometimes guilt. You did not choose the first group you joined. That is exactly why it is the strongest. You arrived small, hungry, dependent, and the first people you met told you your name, your religion, what is right, what is wrong, who to respect and who to avoid. You believed them, because who else were y