What's in a System?

Rules are made to be broken. Ever wondered why? I was not surprised when I delved a little deeper though.

Why follow traffic lights on an empty road?! Why take prolonged over-bridge walk when straight line is the shortest distance between two points? Why pay taxes when I am not getting return from the government (other than to escape income tax officers)? Would a CNG driver admit to being corrupt by not turning on the meter? Don't I frequent DVD stores selling pirated copies? Would it not be prudent to bribe the instructor Tk 500 so that he passes me at the first go of the driving license practical exam? Does it make sense to not park right in front of the shop/restaurant when others are doing the same? No harm in blowing my trumpet in a jam-packed signal or in front of my building's guarded entrance! It is my money and who is going to stop me from purchasing un-endorsed dollar from a money exchange? I would, if I could, exercise 'influence' for receiving a Rajuk plot, wouldn't you? It is a privilege when I make ‘pandals’ in front of my house, engaging police to divert the traffic off the blocked road. The overriding criteria for being a good businessman is to maximize profit, and now. Spending time out with friends in the name of extra university classes is a white lie. The household help is not eligible for the hours, leave and bonus I expect from my employer.

Human beings are not robots. And neither are laws absolute (amendments are made). It is said that everything Hitler did was legal! It’s not the law but the purpose it aims to serve that we should look at. The stakeholders all have to realize and appreciate the goals that the rules are striving to achieve, else the system should not work. There is an alternative though in this capitalist world- the general mass sails smugly through everyday life, not needing to use judgment or knowledge and slowly forgetting they have some. We then turn into lemmings ready to oblige with whatever the reigning system demands of us. It so dulls our brain that we do not ask ...

Why do I have to pay a security deposit for my post paid connection and not receive a monthly detail bill? Just how much can a machine printed bank account statement cost? Why does international chain KFC not accept credit cards? What makes a 'breaking' news and how many can there be in a day? How come courier services deliver registered letters during office hours? Why doctors never give a receipt against their consultation fees? Is red meat really bad, for the grandparent generation did not restrict meat consumption and yet mostly lived past 80? Why put 3 year olds to 4 years of preschool? Or what right the private guards of Westin and Warid have to ban rickshaws on “their” lanes? How can Indian embassy permanently block Rd 142 at Gulshan 1 R/A? What makes a public road a Very Important Person (VIP) road? What does the 'Guest Parking Not Allowed' sign/policy say about our hospitality? How much am I gaining by keeping the gas burner on and by haggling over Taka 5 with the street hawker while donning myself in lacs at the occasional marriage ceremony? Even why a son can not stand in prayer behind the mother under whose feet lies his heaven?