Back before our institutions were formed, everyone pretty much decided for themselves how they would live.  Then somewhere along the way, some person or group of people decided their way was best for everyone. And rather than just offering that way and leaving it at that, these people or groups of people decided to devote themselves to making sure everyone did it their way, because their way was best (they thought).

I have individual pages devoted to each of these institutional myths.  There are many, many of them, but these are the main ones:

The Marriage Myth:  "Marriage and monogamy are the "best" way to live, they are good for us, they are moral, other ways of living are immoral, marriage encourages partners to stay together, marriage protects those involved in the marriage."  Well, to say marriage and monogamy are good or best, you have to agree on what is good or best.  Marriage served a purpose for those who invented it, but that purpose does not serve us now.
See History, Purpose and Need for Change in Marriage

The Family Myth:  "A family is a social unit that is made up of a mother, father and children."  In reality, a family is any group of people who live together to love and care for each other, irrespective of who makes up the family. There is not one kind of family that is better than another. Those who only believe in two-parent heterosexual families try to perpetuate the family myth.  See What Makes a Family?

The Parenting Myth:  "Parents must tell children what to do because they don't know what's best for them. Parents must mold children into what they want them to be. Children must receive some kind of punitive discipline or reward to make them behave.  Children should learn to respect authority and obey their parents." People are indoctrinated with this control-oriented approach to life from the moment of birth.  People don't know how to treat each other with respect in our society because from they moment they are born, they are controlled and treated with disrespect and their ideas and individuality not valued.  Adults treat children in a way that they would not allow themselves to be treated as adults because it's humiliating and devaluing.  Almost all "traditional" mainstream parenting ideas exist only for the convenience of the parent and not because it's best for the child.  See Growing Up Healthy and Unhindered

The Healthcare Myth:  "You cannot be healthy without getting regular checkups and treatment from your doctor."  In reality, even mainstream medicine's own medical research studies show that medical care is dangerous.  The basic assumptions underlying the practice of modern medicine are not sound.  Other alternative theories of health and healing make more sense and don't harm the patient in the process.  By choosing some healing system other than modern, allopathic medicine, you are taking charge of your health and should not be viewed as incompetent, negligent, or stupid for doing so.  Visiting your doctor can be hazardous to your health.  See Removing Obstacles to a Healthy Body and Mind

The Childbirth Myth:  "Childbirth is inherently dangerous and should only occur in a hospital setting.  Pregnant women need prenatal care to have healthy pregnancies and babies."  In reality, childbirth is a natural function of a woman's body and not a disease, and in all but the most serious emergencies, does not need to take place anywhere except at home.  Hospitals are for sick people with diseases.  Medical research studies have found that home birth is as safe as hospital birth, and that prenatal care does NOT significantly contribute to a healthy pregnancy and baby.  The hospital environment as well as routine hospital procedures cause a significant amount of complications which can be prevented by birthing at home.  See Removing Obstacles to Unhindered Pregnancy and Birth

The Education Myth:  "Children should go to school.  Parents are not competent to oversee their children's education.  Children can't teach themselves.  Children won't choose to learn unless we make them.  The best way to have a rewarding career is a college education.  You will earn more by finishing school than you will by dropping out and educating yourself."  In reality, schools are designed to teach a certain kind of person a certain kind of information and a certain view of reality.  School only works for kids who have certain learning styles, and it only rewards you for giving the "right answers" that somebody somewhere decided were right.  School should be a place a person goes voluntarily, not by force, and where they can learn what they want and feel they need to learn, and where they can explore different answers and solutions.  You shouldn't be given a bad grade if you disagree with the accepted answer to a question.  School, unfortunately, is only about learning the "accepted" knowledge and getting the "right" answers on tests.  See Removing Obstacles to a Real Education

The Employment Myth:  "The best way to provide for yourself and your family is to get a college education and go to work for someone else.  You should put your kids in daycare where they will be raised by strangers and won't learn anything useful so you can go work for someone else all day. You need to get out of the house and away from your family to maintain your sanity.  Working for an employer is the best way to provide income for your family."  Actually, our Employment Poll showed that working for an employer is a major hindrance for many people.  Any nobody ever got rich by working for someone else.  It's relatively easy to make enough money with a home business to support yourself.  See Removing Obstacles to Financial Freedom

The Food Myth:  "America's food supply is safe to eat.  There is no way a person can grow all the food they would need to feed their family. It would take too much time, money and space."  Actually, America's food supply is filled with poisons and genetically modified foods.  Growing your own or buying organic is the only way to assure you aren't eating potentially dangerous foods.  It's relatively easy using grow bags, hanging planters and no-till gardening.  See Removing Obstacles to Healthy, Affordable Food

The Religion Myth:  Where do I begin?  LOL   "You can't be right with God without Jesus. You need to go to belong to a church and you need a priest or minister to guide you.  You can't reach heaven by your own effort. You will go to hell if you don't follow the Bible.  We are all evil and in need of salvation.  Nobody can be good on their own.  We need to pray and ask God to help us.  Everything in the Bible is from God and you need to follow it all.  Only Christianity can get you to heaven.  If you're not a Christian, Jew or Muslim, you are a pagan."  I've only scratched the surface of this one.  You don't need a religion or divine intervention.  You were created with everything you need inside you already, you just need to learn to access it.  You have the right to choose how to embrace spirituality, and you are perfectly acceptable even if you don't choose to follow one of the world's major religions.  Spirituality is about recognizing the essence of who you are and connecting with the universe on this level.   Religion is about controlling people, about getting them to follow a set of rules and regulations that will control their behavior.  Don't allow yourself to be controlled.  See Removing Obstacles to Healthy Spirituality

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