Do you follow the rules?

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Are rules really meant to be broken?  I’m a strict rule-follower for the most part.  You tell me that these are the rules and I’ll do what I’m told.  Doesn’t matter if you’re a policeman, doctor, store employee, whatever – I’ll obey what I’m told 9 times out of 10.  And the 1 time I don’t, it’s because I simply don’t understand the use for sticking to the rule.  Like having only 10 items or less at the grocery store – if I have 11 items and there’s no one there, I’ll use that lane.  Okay, sure, it’s probably because of how I was raised.  My parents didn’t put a lot of rules on us kids – they gave us a lot of independence.  However, those rules we did have were to be followed at all costs.  There wasn’t much wiggle room there.  Okay, so I know someone who was raised in another country.  Not only did his parents have very strict rules, there wasn’t much freedom to be had because the country was communist.  So, here he is in America and feels that he can do pretty much anything he wants in this land of freedom.  Rules, schumles.  If he doesn’t like it, he’s not going to obey it.  And heaven help you if you try to tell him otherwise – you might find yourself being called Castro and several other names.  At various times, he’s tried to get me to not be so ridged in my compulsory need to follow the rules.  He has tried to convince me that nothing bad will really happen if I break this rule or that because, after all, who’s going to know?  Um, I’ll know.  Fine, I’m my own personal policeman – my sense of personal guilt is highly tuned for some reason.   But it’s not just that.  Sometimes you can get in a lot of trouble even if no one can see because things have a way of catching up with you.  Not like I have a lot of experience with anything like that.  No, I’ve been told I’m too much of a goody two-shoes to do anything even remotely wrong.  Huh, maybe I’ve been too much of stickler for the rules, maybe I should bend a bit.  Let’s see what can I do to break a rule?  All I think I’m up for is a little jaywalking…

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