On Rules

Dear Michelle,

As you are no doubt aware, the world is populated by rules. These rules come in many forms: laws, school rules, rules for games, community rules, and the ones I most detest, social rules.

The world is a big scary place. It can often be overwhelming to try to think about what is possible. And many things are possible; consider that the only rules that cannot be violated are the so-called "physical laws." Gravity pulls you down, wind resistance slows you down, matter can neither be created nor destroyed, &c. Beyond this, all rules are arbitrary. I believe we do these things because it is easier to forbid certain behaviour than to accept the enormity of what is possible in the world. Honestly, the only thing preventing men from wearing dresses is social pressure, and their acceptance of this pressure.

There are two things that you must understand: the first is that simply having a rule does not guarantee compliance. Many people fail to grasp this simple concept, but the truth is that there will always be someone who ignores the rules and does whatever he wants. If you pass a law forbidding people to eat meat, there will still be people who eat meat. The law-abiding citizens will throw their hands up in despair, saying, "It's against the law! Why are people still eating meat?" But just because it's "against the rules" doesn't mean the someone won't still do it.

The second thing is that rules are arbitrary. They are put in place for a variety of reasons, some good and some bad, but regardless, they are still created by people, and the only way to enforce them is through an arbitrary system of authority. They aren't like physical laws, which cannot be violated; anyone can commit murder, but nobody can fly without mechanical assistance.

I mentioned social mores earlier. As I said, I despise them above all other forms of rules. Certain codes of conduct are useful, in that they provide a framework for amicable interaction between people, but some rules are simply unnecessary. There was recently an article in a British newspaper bemoaning the "crisis" in the cutlery industry; forks were outselling knives by two-to one! This indicated that people were eating more takeaway and eating less at home, which meant that they no longer needed knives, and this indicated a decline in "proper eating manners," which was a sign of the downfall of British culture. And in my opinion, why on earth does it matter how anyone eats their food? This is an example of a stupid, useless, and unnecessary rule.