[juju]

I never understood why I'm supposed to love my parents.

Whenever I ask others about this, they never give me a satisfactory response. They'll typically just shake their heads in dissapointment and say, "That's so sad." And I'll respond, "But why?" And then they'll say, "It just is". This often leaves me just as confused about the situation as before. I don't understand why I am expected to have this emotion.

I do sort of see it as an obligation I failed in. People are supposed to love their parents, right? That's societies' expectation. But I've never been given a satisfactory reason as to why. Also, if I haven't identified that particular emotion, how do I know that I do not possess it? Whenever I talk about this with people, for example, the idea is oftentimes so radical to them that they just out and out tell me I'm wrong. They say that I love my mother and father and just don't know it. What am I to say to this?

The best and most often given reason why I should love my parents is because of all the things they've done for me. They gave me food and shelter, they raised me, they sent me to school, and they taught me about life. My mom would probably interject all the times she had to spend all that money on me, like at the orthodontist. The only thing is, I didn't ASK them to do any of those things. It wasn't my choice, and as far as I knew, they were obligated to do most of them by the rules of society. Why should I love them for something I didn't ask for, and that they were expected to do?