[Cato the Elder] used to say that a man who beats his wife or child is laying sacrilegious hands on the most sacred thing in the world.
—Plutarch
Thankfully, we’re at a place in history where most people don’t need to hear this anymore, but unfortunately, some people still do. Maybe they’re reading this book. Maybe they’re not. But it’s worth laying it down again; it’s worth a reminder of the precious treasure you’ve been entrusted with.
To raise your hand, open or closed, to your spouse or your children is unacceptable.
It doesn’t matter how angry you are. It doesn’t matter who started it. It doesn’t matter how many times you told your son. It doesn’t matter that your parents used to do it. It doesn’t matter that some cultures still accept it.
For two thousand years, we’ve known deep down that it’s wrong. You are here to protect and to serve and to love them. To violate that obligation because you can’t control yourself in the moment, because you’re mad? This is to violate a sacred oath. And once done, it can never be undone.
You cannot do it. Ever.