Rules/Laws and Common Sense

Are rules and laws and the like being used unnessarily against people more often now?  What is a rule or law, if you can't just use a little commons sense and reasoning?  In today's world people are either in trouble or let out of trouble for technical reasons.  This happens because authority figures in various forms follow their little rules or laws to the letter as it is written.  I suppose one could say that if they were to let something slide, because of common sense or if they gave someone trouble, because some rule or law said something can or shouldn't be done, then it's a slippery slope.  Nonononono... I beg to differ.  You state the case and why you decided that even though a certain rule or law says something, that you chose to disregard written rule or law.

Rules are stuctured and are there to make things safe for people.  It is there to help keep things in line, but if you choose to go by the book sometimes good people are hurt for actions they shouldn't get hurt for.

Years ago an elderly woman put a hot cup of McDonald's coffee between her legs and when she drove, it spilled onto her lap.  She sued McDonald's and won.  A lot of people shook their heads that day.  Let me make this clear.  Coffee is hot.  Coffee is a hot drink.  It comes out of a coffee maker that steams and steams.  Have you made coffee before?  What if she made her own coffee and burned her legs?  Is she going to sue the maker of the person who made her coffee maker?  It is in my opinion that she was sue happy.  She blamed McDonald's for her mistake.  She put the coffee there.  She spilled it on herself.  What did she expect?  If I was the judge, I'd use a little common sense.  Or I would just throw away the case.  What exactly is the point?  It is a waste of time and money.  She wasted McDonald's time.  She wasted her own time.  And worst of all she wasted the time of the court room.  She wasted the time of her lawyers.  She wasted the time of McDonald's lawyers.  Lawyers wasted their own time.  The judge wasted his time.  Okay, so the lawyers were paid and so was the judge.  Maybe they went ahead and did the case to get paid.  Of course then one could say that the judge could have just ruled in McDonald's favor saying that the old lady did what she did, because of lack of common sense. But no, the judge went by the book or something.  I don't understand anyway, but somehow he came to the stupid conclusion that it was McDonald's fault.

This next one is a little more recent, but not very.  A young man saved the life of a girl.  They both had asthma and they both used the same type of drug in their inhalers.  They both knew this.  The girl was having an asthma attack and she didn't have hers.  The boy, KNOWING she used the same thing let her use his inhaler and this saved her life.  The school suspended him, because the rules state that you don't give others your own medicine.  Admittedly the reasoning behind this rule is very sound.  One could accidently kill someone if they took or gave the wrong medicine.  So, a sound rule was used.  Okay, so that I see nothing wrong with, but because there was nothing in the rules making reasonable exceptions, he was suspended.  Slippery slope?  Is that why they had to suspend him?  To make an example?  Or was it just because he read the rule out of the book and had to do accordingly?  Both students took the SAME inhaler.  Both KNEW this.  The girl's life was in danger.  The boy rescued her.  And for that he is punished?  What is the point of a rule, if you can't use a little common sense?  So something states that one is to be punished for something even if this something saved someone?

In a way I'm sorry I had to write a very negative blog post today, but I think we need to be aware of the fact that rules and laws are being misused even more now than before.  A bit of leniancy is in order.  I think it's oly fair, actually not only fair, but it is right and just to start using one's head to make a judgement call.  We can't just make a judgement call, because a rule or law says we have to.  Where are people's heads at that we follow things to the letter just because a rule or law says so?  We've lost our ability to think things through and are blindly following rules and laws.  Are we so stupid that we don't know what to do in certain situations anymore?  Are we afraid we'll get backlash if we don't follow things to the letter?  There could be a lot of reasons, but I think it needs to be pointed out everywhere that common sense is more important than any rule or law is.  And to just follow one without the other is just foolish.

What Is War?

What is war, but a pointless struggle for power?  I get the idea that it's good for fighting to keep your rights, but that's more or less defense, there.  But, you see, I don't see the whole struggle to control from the other side.  People all over are now trying to struggle and fight for their rights against their governments and that's because their governments want too much control over what they do?  Live and let live.  Why don't they have these rights?  Our government is far from perfect and it really is all complicated, trying to decide what;s good for the people or not, but I love where I live.  I don't agree with our government on a lot of things, but I do realize what we have and we have it better than some people.  I'd like to think that if you're happy with your country, then good for you.

But back in 2001 when we had those planes hijacked.  Terrorism.  What do they want?  Power.  They wanted to control our beliefs.  They want to put all this Mohammed and Alah crap on us.  I don't care what they believe.  That's perfectly okay,as far as I'm concerned.  If they want to believe that, that's great for them, but I don't understand this whole thing of controling the lives of others.  Why the hell do you give two craps what others think?  Why all this need for control.

Ok, so in a sense I do get the idea of control.  I have a few beliefs that I'm rather firm on and have the urge to yell my point or to convince other people of what I consider facts, but all in all, if their beliefs aren't infringing on other people, why should I care?  So I keep my mouth shut.  I mean, it's okay to state my point of view without force, but being forceful just brings them to pushing you back.  You push them and they push you back.  It's nothing but a pointless power struggle.  Everyday, people try to do the impossible.  They push and shove their stuff on someone else with no need and then they push back.  And it goes on and on and on...  I guess what I don't understand is why people don't find the time to sit down in a comfortable chair at the end of the day to reflect.  Maybe keep a blog or private journal.

Religious people.  Some of them are acting on this pointless power struggle.  Politians.  Yeah, they're trying to make a better nation, but they need to reflect on what their position is.  Is it infringing on people's rights?  Daily struggles of some neighbors.  Their values.  Swearing.  Hey, I say as long as the person isn't using a word against you or someone else, then why worry about this supposed taboo word?  I have strong feelings against abortion, but in a way I back down, because they're going to do what they're going to do, but I always come back to myself wondering about the rights of the baby inside a woman whose body is no longer her own.  That's probably my only real issue.  I understand most of the arguements, so that's part of why I back down.  I just assume stay out of it and if was to go out with someone I'd prefer someone that wouldn't do it, if things came to it.  If I was a woman, I just wouldn't have one, if it came down to it, like if I was a woman who was raped.  But I just wouldn't bother telling others.

So, when I vote I would try to choose someone who supports rights of who matter most.  So, what needs to happen is a blance of power among all.  I guess that's what war or more rather struggle, is all about.  Trying to balance that power, but really most of what I started talking about were governments and people in gneral that just won't let people live with the rights they have that don't harm anyone.  If they aren't harming you, then buzz off.  That's what I say.