One of the big dodges in today’s society is to say, “That’s not fair,” when things don’t go your way. Life is a series of ups and downs. Those who succeed over the long term, deal with the obstacles and become better decision-makers. Sadly, too many bureaucrats and lawmakers rush to create rules to assuage the discomfort of those who lack the grit to deal with life’s difficulties. The hope, of course, is that the new policy will eliminate the possibility of the situation ever happening again. As we have all observed, this is a futile effort. This is not to say that there are no circumstances where a carefully conceived and enforceable practice might be the best solution. (Carefully conceived and enforceable are the key elements here.)
But there’s a larger question. Can fairness exist when reason is precluded by rules? The more rules we have, the less opportunity to apply reason. The less the opportunity for reason, the less freedom to succeed. While some may feel content to be confined in this way, most of us resent being stymied by rules that limit our opportunities or frustrate our self-initiative. After all, this is the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” isn’t it?
The best decision-makers I know, enjoy the challenge of overcoming daily obstacles, as long as those obstacles produce growth and are not the result of someone’s attempt to remove the inevitable risk associated with anything worth doing. Increasingly, we find ourselves spending time attending to unnecessary rules and policies because some well-meaning individual or group is trying to save us from what they fear.
The collective energy we spend on these moronic rules saps our stamina and discourages us from contributing to the greater good. After all, that’s the rule makers’ job, right? Instead, we shake our head when someone says, “I know it doesn’t make sense, but it’s the policy.” (That’s happened to many of us.) Then we find a way to circumvent the rule to achieve our goal. Sadly, this practice tends to invite another rule when discovered by the rule-makers. Finally, we ought to consider the impact of these practices on emerging generations who are being imbued with a belief that “thou shouldest not” unless there is a rule permitting it. How can we expect them to embrace the risk-taking that has made this nation great if they are waiting for someone else to make the decisions for them? As that great philosopher Pogo observed so eloquently, “We have met the enemy and they is us.”