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Wow, last week there was a huge range of hobbies and interesting things that keep people relaxed and ticking over! Lot's of interesting and usual things, in addition to the more normal ones of exercise, reading and gaming!

This week, I'm writing this post a couple of hours early. The usual problem of a non-sleeping toddler combined with a sick wife means that I probably won't have time later when the post actually clears payout.

This week, I've been thinking about rules and laws. Mostly because I collected a hefty fine for running a red light by accident (I was tired and was looking at the wrong lights...). I know full well that I can't really appeal it, as I DID run the red light, and that is the problem, and not that I was tired and stupidly went through. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure the law doesn't allow stupidity and tiredness as a valid defense.

So, this got me thinking about laws and rules in general. Do people see them more as guidelines or something that is concrete? So, on the road, a good chunk of the population see the road rules (laws) as guidelines, breaking the speed limits and various other rules with regularity. Other things, like murder are more concrete, it's generally not okay to kill other people.

Obviously, when we are on the receiving end of the law (like I just was), there is all sorts of reasons why the law is unjust and so forth. However, when you are protected from harm by the law, then it is the most incredible instrument of justice in the world. Obviously, there can be a range of good and bad laws, and there is a wide range of interpreting the laws (that's why we have judges and lawyers...) and so there is a vast middle ground of cases where the laws are at best unclear and need to be tested.

My question

Do you think, in general, that rules/laws should be concrete or treated more as guidelines?

(optional) Can you think of a rule/law that should be abolished (gotten rid of) or created?

My sample answer

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I personally think that laws should be treated (in general) as concrete. Generally, there are there for a greater good reason, and if that means occasionally holding back a few then that is okay with me. On the other hand, that is not to say that there aren't bad laws/rules but in that case, the constant misapplication of the laws should lead to public outcry for change. Also, the concrete enforcement of the law doesn't rule out a leniency in the application of the punishment for breaking the law either.

Personally, I think people who push in front of lines should be fined, pilloried or jailed, or people who use their phones or are really loud in the silent carriages of trains/public transport or people who try to board the plane when it isn't their turn, but I guess that these rules would be impossible or difficult to enforce!

Keep in mind that I'm thinking about this from the perspective of someone who has lived in a Western democracy (Netherlands and Australia) for my whole life, so this is my experience of laws/rules. I understand fully that other people's experiences will depend on their own personal background...

Rules

1. Upvote if you want, it increases the payout and then I can hopefully sponsor more people.
2. Resteem is NOT neccessary, but the more people see this, the more the people will be likely to be sponsored.
3. In the comments, tell me your thoughts about rules/laws.
4. I have added a small Steem-Bounty to the post, so that everyone who replies with a valid entry will get something back. If I give your post a small upvote, it is valid (also, subscribe to @dustsweeper for maximum benefit!).
5. I will be sponsoring as many people as this post pays out in liquid SBD/STEEM. Also I will kick in at least the required amount to round up to the full number. Winner is by random generator after a shortlisting of quality comments!

Steem Basic Income

One of the first communities that I came in contact with at the beginning of my time at Steemit was @steembasicincome. As a beginning author, Steemit can be a daunting place. It feels like you are posting into an abyss with no ability to grow. Steem Basic Income gives you a guaranteed vote on one post a day, thus giving you a small but cumulative over time support to your account.

With this post, I want to help sponsor people who might not even have the spare 1 STEEM that is required for registration. So, when this post pays out, I will sponsor people depending on the payout of this post. Basically, I will round up the SBD payout from this post and then that will be the number of people I will sponsor. (So, if the payout is 2.3 SBD, I will sponsor 3 people).

Last week's winners

Last week paid out (I don't know exactly yet, but it is close to 2 shares), so I will make it 3 shares. I will send the SBI shares when the post from last week clears.

Congratulations to:

@gmatthe2

@whymonkey

@kaelci