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2002-05-20 - 11:36 p.m.
I got to spend a significant amount of time with my friend George just the other day. I haven�t spent much time with him in years. It was really good. We had basically a day-long conversation. Mostly catching up. Catching up on where we are as people I suppose. Like I said, it was really good.
During one discussion we were complaining about driving and I mentioned, which is an ongoing theme with me, the fact that people just don�t, or want to, follow the rules. George picked up on that and being rather contrarian and �freethinking� he started digging into me about �following rules�. But it�s stuck with me.
I don�t think of myself as a real �law and order� kinda guy. I�m no republican. But as I�ve gotten older, the �rules� seem more important than they did before. When I was a kid, I followed the rules out of fear, and of course I still do. But as I got older and had adhered to the rules for so many years, I got sorta ticked off when other people didn�t follow the rules.
We can use driving as an example. Have you read The Rules of the Road for your state? I imagine every state�s motor vehicle organization must publish a version. It tells you the basic rules for driving, especially in your state.
Well, I�ve read The Rules of the Road for Illinois. Since I�ve had a couple of jobs where I basically drove all day for a living, The Rules of the Road have had special significance for me.
The thing is, most drivers don�t follow the rules. They try to pass on the right. They speed. They don�t use turn signals. All the things that cause road rage, and will get you shot on the freeways in California.
Why do people ignore the rules? Well I have a few ideas. The most basic reason is because law enforcement doesn�t bother any more. The other is the whole �me� generation thing. Ego. Self-centeredness. �I don�t care who I screw over, I NEED to be one car-length ahead of everybody else.�
What are the consequences of not following the rules? In the case of driving, it�s how screwed up traffic gets. For every bonehead who had to pass on the right and cut in when there was nowhere else for him to go, that�s one more car length everyone behind him gets put back. For every idiot who ignores the merge sign and continues to drive in the lane that ends until the last possible moment, then has to force their way back into the other lane, it slows everything down just that bit more. For every jackass that has to get into the intersection and cause grid lock it�s more time wasted for everyone else.
It goes on and on. From the people who bring 14 items into the 10 items or fewer checkout line. The illegal parkers. The unlicensed handguns. The child-support non-payers. The Enron�s. You get the picture, don�t you?
Rules, laws, are there to make society work. And if the society refuses to act within it�s own rules, then eventually won�t society cease to exist?
Americans have this sense of the rugged individual. It�s such an American thing. Well, U.S. thing anyway. I guess that was fine during pioneer days, but this is the 21st century. It�s really a bankrupt mindset. Sure, I�m glad we have the freedoms that we do in the United States. I wouldn�t want it any other way...or would I?
I wouldn�t want to live in a fascist state, or a totalitarian state, but at least people could follow the rather liberal laws we DO have. People seem to think the laws apply to everyone but them. The Anarchists should celebrate, because to some degree we live in a state of Anarchy.
And film and television just add to it. Oh don�t worry, I�m not gonna go on about violence. Violence is a red herring. It�s the failure to follow rules. Think about it. Watch your next movie or television show. The �hero� always breaks the rules in order to save the day. Watch an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation. Rampant insubordination on the Enterprise. The Prime Directive is ignored routinely. So why even have a �Star Fleet Command�? What�s the point? Every captain of the Enterprise has cavalierly ignored the rules at every turn.
Or think about cop shows. These are the guys who enforce the laws, right? How many times has the boss told the rogue cop that he�s off the case, but he keeps investigating and solves the case. After, of course, smashing up a bunch of police cars and private property and killing a bunch of bad guys.
Or military movies and TV shows. McHale�s Navy. Hearbreak Ridge. Crimson Tide. In the military there are strict rules of conduct, yet we repeatedly show in films and television shows military men break the rules in order to do ... whatever, and they end up heroes. When in reality, they�d end up in the stockade.
So if our culture glorifies rule breaking, then every young kid growing up gets the message that it�s okay to bend, or break the rules to get what they want. Whether getting what we want means getting ahead of the car in front of them on the expressway, or getting vengeance on a former girlfriend for dumping us by beating her or killing her, the message is that there are no consequences for breaking the rules.
But I believe that there are consequences for not following the rules. The consequences are increased crime, higher cost of living, and just general stress.
Crimes could be prevented if would-be criminals took a second to think about what will happen to them if they commit the crime. Aside from the realities of our judicial system, most criminals, I�m convinced, really believe that they�ll get away with the crime they�re considering. They�ve been �taught� that crimes are not punished.
The cost of living is driven higher by corporations, and even smaller companies, acting either outside of the law, or acting unethically. Enron is the perfect example. Their misbehavior cost Californians millions. Microsoft is another example.
And general stress. Do I really need to point it out? Traffic. Fear of violence. Inconvenience. The stress associated with these things is exacerbated by peoples� failure of compliance to the rules.
You know what to do.
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So, how do you like them apples?