Talking to a friend the other day, the concept of being a person who adheres to rules vs a person who breaks those rules came up. I hadn't thought of this difference in clear terms in a while. Everyone, I guess, has their own guidelines of when to cross over the line into "illegal" territory, whether illegal is defined legitimately or morally.
For myself, I would most often be over the line into the rule breaking territory. While no one likes authority telling them what to do, I consciously defy that authority. I drive over the speed limit regularly, although a lot less than I did 20 years ago. If cheating on my taxes was possible, I would do it. If I could vote in a presidential election many times and not get caught, I would. I have "shoplifted" goods from grocery stores by switching price tags. (This is almost impossible to do now because of bar codes, just saying.) And right now I currently walk past the "Do Not Enter" barrier to the Glen Ellen regional park when walking Cooper, because it's my park and we need the exercise. These are benign examples. There are more that are less easy to explain. I will not discuss those here.
But there are many out there who would never do such things. Rules are rules and they are there for reasons. I get that and I understand folks who don't want to edge over that line. But as Bob Dylan wrote "Sometimes you just find yourself over the line." Sometimes breaking that rule, transgressing the law, just happens.
At least I see it that way. I would never break a rule that would put anyone in danger or cause someone pain. But right and wrong are sometimes two faces of one decision that arbitrarily tosses the dilemma straight at us. We wrestle with consequences every day.
More to follow.....
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