I’m Not Wrong; the Rules Are
February 22, 2011
I wrote this a year ago and never finished or published it. Reading it now, I think it’s interesting enough to post. I don’t necessarily disagree with it, but I do know it makes me seem rude.
I like being an exception (or having one made in my name), though it seems that the rest of the world is split on the issue. Some love the feeling of specialness and power that comes from being outside the confines of routine (and the struggle of getting there), while others desire to fly under the radar and conform, living their own lives without conflict with rules. “Get away with it, get away with it, we Americans love to get away with it!” a song by Guy Forsyth goes, and it’s true.
And it makes sense, given my ideological tendencies toward Nietzschean thought, that I would desire to evaluate the situation myself, and then impose my decision upon the rules, rather than allow them to dictate how I function. It might be best to see what I mean through examples. I managed to excuse my way out of literally 25% of class periods in my junior and senior years at high school, and almost no one in administration or faculty thought twice about it because I kept a 4.33 GPA both years, got my assignments in on time, and legitimately had better places to be. The attendance policy was strict, 6 excused absences and 3 unexcused before significant sanctions, no matter what the circumstances, yet somehow it was never enforced. On move-in day last year I called ahead and got permission to ignore my late afternoon time card by virtue of the fact that I came up by train. I was able to turn in a midterm paper several days late due to the goodwill I had built up with the professor. I use my IT ID to get into buildings without signing in. I was exposed to alcohol, drugs, and pornography before age 18 (not that the last is particularly interesting given its shallowness).
What do these have in common? First, no harm comes of them. Second, there’s advantage (real or perceived) to me. The conclusion? The rules are too narrow, and the exception is justified.
~ J. William Lockhart
