We start our life journey with the care and support of our parents.
One of their primary jobs is to establish the basic systems of beliefs that are important to them and they believe will enable their children to have healthy and productive lives.
Just as there are many ways of raising children, there are many different core belief systems available for parents to teach as their children grow from babies into adults. It is not unusual for parents to teach the system of beliefs about life that they were taught themselves by their own parents. This pattern establishes a history for many beliefs to pass from generation to generation.
One of the ways for groups to live and work together is to have some core beliefs that encourage cohesive forces to operate. Having a similar belief system allows us to understand others and for them to feel safer and more comfortable around us.
Therefore, almost all of the groups in our society, including the society itself, work to structure and encourage similar beliefs so that we can function together and minimize or avoid the time and energy drained when there is discord. Without the presence of similarity in cohesive core beliefs, it is almost impossible for a group to survive for any significant period of time.
Regardless of what our parents teach or social organizations impose, there are always a few persons who choose not to subscribe to what they were taught is the best way to live life.
They may choose to rebel again the core beliefs of a group such as the many schools where the norm is that everyone learns best in the same way and at the same pace with the same 50-minute period of time. A choice of individuality in learning or any other behavior/belief usually brings conflict between the individual and the group. To avoid these conflicts, groups use strong pressures to keep everyone on the same page of beliefs.
As one grows older, he/she finds that many of the beliefs that they have been taught are no longer true for them. Some are able to confront these and make the change easily such as there is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. Changes like the reality that not everyone has an equal chance to be President of the United States are usually not too difficult for most of us.
However, if an individual decides to challenge and change his/her belief in other areas, they often find themselves threatening to many groups in which they live their lives.
Groups have various degrees of difficulty in allowing individuals to change beliefs as:
· Going to college is the best way to get a good-paying job.
· There is on only one way to be patriotic.
· My religion is the only one that is true for all people.
· Being completely honest in all behavior is best for all.
· Hard work is the best way to economic success.
· Certain ethnic groups have unique negative characteristics.
· Capitalism is the best economic system in the world.
· All people prefer to live with a democratic government.
· Fighting for what you believe is the best way to achieve it.
· Living in a similar style of house is the best way to protect my property values.
As we travel along life’s path, we are constantly challenged to evaluate and make choices about the beliefs that we have been taught are best. If we decide to make changes in these beliefs, we soon find that we have minimum support from most of our society.
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