Protection
"The reason I am wary of others protecting me is that they most commonly do so by lying to me, to spare me some hardship they think I cannot or should not handle. So often, though, they are protecting me from themselves, from some unintentional misery they would create for me through their actions. The worst part is that they, being human, usually cannot withstand the misery of the lie, the action, and the ensuing guilt that accompany both, and so they eventually confess their protection of me all the same. Now I have lost two things- my happiness, and my trust in my would-be protector.
No, I do not need your protection. I need your courage. I need your trust. I need your faith in me and your faith in yourself. I need you to speak to me as a friend would- with earnest, passionate honesty. I need to know that there are those who would speak to me and tell me what I must hear from a source I would trust to say it. Otherwise the whole of my life is a lonely illusion, listening to false praise and empty banter.
Objective reasoning is the greatest of humankind's skills. Do not deprive me of mine- and therefore my ability to understand and interpret this world as I may- by withholding truth for the sake of well-meaning but ultimately dangerous intentions."
I have tried to protect others and have had others try to protect me. Both led to ruin.
I don't think of the above quote in the context of protection of innocence. There is no sense springing graphic or disturbing facts upon children, for example, who lack the understanding and experience to comprehend them intelligently. Between two adults, though ...
Maybe I will change my views on this when I have met the woman I'll marry. For right now, though, it's something to think about. As ever, the data speaks for itself. I have never come across a situation where this type of protection has improved a relationship or friendship. Most often it has been a precursor and direct contributor to some brutal and violent end, when a confession leads to long hidden truths, tears, and heartache.