By Mark Antony Rossi
What is family in the modern age but a loosely-knitted collection of people bound by blood but not b heart. I hear reports from workmates who claim they are closer to those in their employ than with relatives.
I’m not sure if this phenomena is a sign of the times. Writers have been documenting the familial disconnect for centuries. But I am sure that communications technology once lauded as a means to improve the world by allowing people to communicate more often has done little to strengthen the family ties.
Perhaps as other relationships you can’t get closer if you are not physically present. Perhaps intimacy is obstructed by less than candid postures. Perhaps communication is not communication if it consists of filling a time slot with hot air.
Whatever is taking place is not enhanced by high-tech gadgetry or new age pageantry.
Sitting in my corner with a glass of red wine I wonder how much of the human condition is responsible for societal decay one family at a time. There’s more pretend going on than a Italian puppet show. And what do receive for all this creative falseness: an appetite for distrust that extends into our lives, connections and ultimately families.
How can we achieve World Peace when we distrust blood relatives? How can we carry charity in our hearts if we secretly despise our spouses? And what do we repay our Creator when kneeling in prayer to ask for fortune instead of admitting the treasure of fellowship continues to elude us. Or maybe we are eluding it?
What is family but a genuine fondness for each other despite blood relation. This is the functional definition applied to multitudes of dysfunctional dens of distrust. But if humanity could only approximate the basic description of the a family the world might be more interested in actual human beings instead of theoretical space aliens. The potential for incredible social progress is in the same hands that pull the trigger for war
About the Author: Mark Antony Rossi is a poet, playwright and author of the bioethics volume “Dark Tech” now available from Amazon. His most recent plays have been produced in Liverpool and New York.
http://ethical-stranger.webnode.com/