Are You A Rule Follower?

Do you have a rule follower type personality? Or are you a questioner and risk taker? Or can you have some of both? We were all raised as rule followers in our families, churchs and in schools. The importance of rules is that it keeps things orderly and under control. Having all these rules seems to make sense with children so they benefit from structure. As we get older are rules as important?

Yes and no would be my response. Yes we need rules and laws to keeps things safe both in our community and in our world. Police and Armies are their to support rule following. Corporations need regulations to keep them in line. Governments need rules to help them function for the good of its citizens. Families need rules so everyone knows how to behave.

The idea that Capitalism is best unregulated goes against the way the rest of society is structured. That would be like going to a school where children were told they could do whatever they wanted and eat as much sweets as they desired. That would be chaos as is our economy today.

The “no” of rule following is that since we are so conditioned as children to follow rules, that as adults we feel the need to follow rules without question. I had a friend in the past that got very uneasy if in a parking lot I didn’t park within the lines even if the parking lot was mostly empty. We get conditioned to do what we think the rules are and oftentimes we don’t even know why we do what we do.

As adults we worry if a police officer is behind us while driving because we don’t want to break any rules. Churches are big on rulemaking. Companies and organizations we work for are big on making rules. In general we just go along with the rules because we don’t want to get in trouble, be noticed or cause problems. All of this is part of doing what we think we are supposed to do. There is nothing wrong with that. It brings order to our society.

However what happens if our orderly society is not working? What happens if our structures are supporting disorder and the shrinking of the middle class? What happens if our nation is a big polluter and we ignore the rest of the world that is trying to clean the air? What happens when a group of people try to tell us what we are suppose to believe in? Is it ok for our government to break treaties and ignore laws by torturing unlawfully kept people and spying on its own citizens? What happens if no one really questions a president and he does whatever he wants to benefit those that got him elected? Is starting a war ever ok without a thorough questioning about why? Is it ok for banks to charge whatever rates on credit cards they want to? How come people in this very rich nation go hungry and most of the rest struggle? How come there has not been more shoe throwing at this President and Congress?

Yes there are many times the rules need to be questioned. Don’t we have a mind so we can exam what is going on and make changes when they are necessary. It seems that in the times we live in today there are lots of questions that need to be asked and rules to be changed.

Would it be better to follow the rules in these times or ask what will work better and make it happen?

Don’t settle for what is because it is easier to be invisible, to not cause problems. Today causing problems with what is may be exactly what is needed.