I like knowing what's right to do, and what's not. How to do it. Why I should do it. Rules - whether established for myself or by some higher power - give our lives structure, and they are there for our benefit, no matter what the rebels say.
Another reason I like knowing the rules: I like knowing how far I can go to break them.
Young men know the rules, but old men know the exceptions.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes.
The reason I bring this up is because someone recently pointed out to me that rules stifle them, and they should break free instead of being held down by the constraints of society. That they should be independent, thinking human beings.
I found it very hard to stop rolling my eyes at them, but I managed.
We are at the very last stages of our teenage years, and fast-heading toward our twenties (or at least, that's the demographic I'm assuming for this blog). If you haven't yet learnt that these rules you're speaking about are in place for your own benefit, you are in trouble.
What rules could you possibly have in mind that are so detrimental to your self?
All rules, I was told vehemently. Curfews, uniforms, age-limits. They restrict our freedom of expression.
Good Lord.
I pointed out that there are rules they probably don't even realize that they're following, because it's so ingrained in their minds as a part of them. Clothes when you're outside - I haven't seen buck-naked men and women strolling around town (Thank God). Closing your mouth when you chew; do you want to show people your freedom of expression in the freedom of food flying out of your mouth? These are all rules set by society, for a reason.
They also help you realize how you should do something. For example, the rules on how to write and sign-off in an e-mail. Important, depending on the recipient.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinions, of course. Mine, however, is that rules are an integral part of us that help us function as higher, civilized creatures than animals.
Ja.
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