Why'd you hold your tongue? When people push their beliefs on you, it's okay to push back, regardless of whether they're your mother or not. I mean, you don't have to be mean about it or anything. Just say something like, "Considering his brain doesn't function anymore, mom, he can't wish for anything."
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
