Blood is Thinner than Love

Have you ever heard the expression, "Blood is thicker than water?" Of course you have. Apparently, it's a German proverb, which extols the merits of family solidarity. Well, I grew up with a sassier version of the old adage, and I can still hear my mother say it in a resigning tone, "Blood is thicker than mud." Leave it to the Irish to add cynicism to a condescending cliché.

Every time I hear someone say the maxim, I contemplate the meaning of mud vs. water. I opine that mud imputes a derogatory tone about family covenants. A sticky implication of a family's visceral unity, despite truth or reason.

As modern definitions of family are expanded, debated and get further away from common blood, the righteously indignant strain becomes increasingly diluted. Blood is thinner than love and devotion.