Brainwash

To the best of my memory, the word brainwash has been used in reference to me only twice. The first time happened more than 50 years ago. The second one occurred less than a year ago. One referred to my religious involvement. The other was connected to social ideology. The first one came from a stranger The other came from a relative. When told that I had been brainwashed in reference to my beliefs about Christ, I felt nothing amiss about such assessment. In fact, such a veiw of me was acceptable. However, when charged by a relative that I had been among certain people and allowed myself to be brainwashed by them, I was taken aback and deeply hurt. I took offense by my relative's accusation and told him so. He apologized for how it made me feel, and I have forgiven him. Notwithstanding, although the subject has not risen again, there is a very thin wall between us regarding that encounter. We are close friends, but I cannot deny that something 'not good' happened that day.