I echo CM's sentiments.
I have a sort of diametric sentiment about the "no regrets" thing.
On one hand, I fully support trying to make a connection with Dale. I think that as long as you are doing it in a respectful way, there is nothing wrong with trying to make a connection with another human being.
On the other hand, if you have reached out to him in a way in which you are sure he received your message, you have to be okay with the fact that you tried and he may not want to respond. Or maybe he just isn't in a place right now where he wants to respond. Maybe a year from now he'll look at an email or a letter that you sent him and decide that he actually does want to respond and you'll get a letter from him. Maybe.
I think it all comes down to a self-examination of your motives, as others have said. It also comes down to empathy. Think about his feelings as well. (Now, if I were him, and got several messages but didn't want to start a dialogue, I would send at least a brief response stating that.)
All in all, I think you need to at least try to get a response from someone, if only to ease your mind. Even if it's the brother telling you to sod off, I think a response of any kind is better than silence.
I have a sort of diametric sentiment about the "no regrets" thing.
On one hand, I fully support trying to make a connection with Dale. I think that as long as you are doing it in a respectful way, there is nothing wrong with trying to make a connection with another human being.
On the other hand, if you have reached out to him in a way in which you are sure he received your message, you have to be okay with the fact that you tried and he may not want to respond. Or maybe he just isn't in a place right now where he wants to respond. Maybe a year from now he'll look at an email or a letter that you sent him and decide that he actually does want to respond and you'll get a letter from him. Maybe.
I think it all comes down to a self-examination of your motives, as others have said. It also comes down to empathy. Think about his feelings as well. (Now, if I were him, and got several messages but didn't want to start a dialogue, I would send at least a brief response stating that.)
All in all, I think you need to at least try to get a response from someone, if only to ease your mind. Even if it's the brother telling you to sod off, I think a response of any kind is better than silence.
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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