RE: If you know the rules, you can break them.
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And we learn which rules we can ignore (J-Walking when there's no car around, crossing the red light) as we have gathered enough experience to make most rules turn into common sense for us, as guidelines that can be followed or infringed depending on the current circumstances.
J-walking is safer than crossing at a 4 way intersection. People become tot complacent when obeying the rules - it glows 'green', so I go - but what if the driver didn't see the red? I like J-walking - one, max two, way traffic, and I'm fully aware of it.
The rebellion against societal norms is important for our society to progress, and it will lead to that, if it has the right fundamentals. Unfortunately, these days most rebellion is quite empty due to lack of education in all parts. Or maybe it seems to me as I have grown out of it?
I'm not yet over it, I like to poke sticks in the wheels... to express descent, to stare down indoctrination... what I most rebel against is the lack of critical thinking. People tie up their identities in things that they haven't fully examined. And I don't know when will I satiate this appetite.
Maybe I grew tired then. I do loathe the lack of critical thinking, and mostly the lack of depth in almost every thought people have. But I don't rebel against it, just point it out from time to time and try to examine people's state of mind by pushing conversations quickly into what I conceive as more profound. Which is mostly rewarded with puzzled looks and "Oh, yeah I had an aunt that..." kind of superficial relate-ability, but sometimes there a smile pops up, a fire starts in the eyes, and one can feel that the other is relieved to be conversing on a different level.
Or is that poking sticks in wheels? It's nothing like the protest I used to carry on with in my university days, 1st of May in Hamburg and such. Though maybe now it's more thoughtful, and hopefully more fruitful.
Oh no, I won't pretend that my poking sticks is the same as university demonstrations! I respect those, and understand the vast chasm between that and my internet ramblings.
I think that the biggest thing that I take away from your post is to avid becoming a rebel for the sake of attention - slipping into individualism, as opposed to building community. The appeal of a a spot light can be very seductive - especially if there is audience.
But yes, a good deep conversation, where you truly feel engaged intellectually is rare... most people avoid these all together.
Actually, this reminds me of my cousin... 😏
That is a great take-away! That alone made it worth writing the post :-)
About the first part of your comment: It's actually something that I learned here in Ecuador. That you can't count on people complying with any rule, ever. One might think that leads to a higher situational awareness, but for some reason it doesn't. Sometimes reminds me of lemmings.
I see it in Lily, too. She is really good crossing the street by herself. But as soon as I'm around, she completely forgets about all safety, and just goes on. As if I could stop cars...
She feels safe with you and that's the good side. But dependency and complacency are dangerous. So you might want to ask her to teach you how to cross the road correctly - give her the responsibility, and make her learn by turning her into a teacher... disclaimer: I don't have kids.
Yeah 'Ecuador' and 'rules' in one sentence simply doesn't work.
That's an interesting idea. She did teach it very well to a friend of hers. As I said, she absolutely knows how to do it perfectly - it's just when I'm around that she gets careless. But maybe she'll get it when she has to show me... I'll try and let you know!