The Rainbow Within

Fear is all-pervasive. In school you are told to study or you will . . . flunk the exam . . . fail the test . . . be unable to attend college or have the career of your choice. You run the risk of ruining your life forever. If you were one of the many people whose internal wiring was such that reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic were difficult, if not impossible, for you, you were labeled stupid, retarded, learning disabled, or most recently, developmentally delayed. Fear of failure and performance ensued. Compound the tests not passed with other children teasing you because of your difficulties, and a lethal combination of fear and anger was installed permanently in your body and mind.

Your pregnant mother was told to follow all the doctor's orders and eat only what he/she said to or she would . . . have a deformed baby . . . retarded baby . . . worst case, dead baby. She had to have the baby in the hospital, using the drugs mandated by the medical profession. If she chose natural childbirth, she had to attend her hospital’s prenatal classes, during which she was told that if she couldn't go all the way without some pain medication, that wasn't really so bad, the baby would probably be okay anyhow, and at any rate, in the hospital they could revive it if the pain medication given to her had really compromised her child..

After you were born, she was told to make sure you got all your immunizations or you would get terrible diseases and possibly die. You also had to drink the formula (or if you were lucky, breast milk), eat the diet prescribed by the medical professionals, and at the times indicated, or you would not grow properly. Every aspect of your growth and development and how the parents should deal with each was carefully delineated. For many years, parents were told to ignore what their heart and instincts told them and just do only what the Authorities (doctor, teacher, pastor, policeman, president) told them, that they were the only possessors of Truth and the Correct Way To Do Things. The underlying fear instilled was that if your parents did not do exactly as they were told, you would not turn out to be a properly trained, polite, useful member of society, and that would be their fault. It is an oxymoron that parents are told to give up responsibility for the how’s of rearing their children to professionals, but must accept the blame themselves for any failure!

Local, state, and national government have always used fear to manipulate their subjects. In this country, if you don't pay your taxes, the Internal Revenue Service will take all your property and possibly put you in jail to boot. If you smoke some marijuana, you are automatically a drug addict and a bad person. At the very least, you will be cited; at worse, you will go to prison. If you don't obey the law(s), you will be punished by being required to pay a fine or serve time. If you don't obey the authorities implicitly, whether they be the local law enforcement entities or the military, you run the risk of physical damage, incarceration, or even death. When threatened with possibly losing their freedom, most people will do everything they can to toe the mark. But how much freedom is implicit in a society where one is forced to tread a very narrow track to avoid dire consequences?