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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 7651968" data-attributes="member: 19675">Damn, that's a good question!I have broken society's rules more than once, almost always for selfish reasons.  For example, I routinely speed on the highway- sometimes by a LOT.  When I was a littke kid, I did shoplift a few times (I eventually got caught and stopped- I saw how much it hurt my parents).Arguably, none of the results of that rulebreaking resulted in an objectively better outcome.When it comes to life's rules, I have never seen them as black and white.*  I can turn down a friend's request for a favor and not lose a moment of sleep...but I usually don't.  When I do, it is for a good reason.I think part of that is that, as I've aged, I have become more constantly and consistently aware of my situation at any given time.A dear cousin of mine asked me to help him out.  It seemed like a hotel where he rented a room for a social event had decided not to do so when he showed up.  So I dropped everything and tried to untangle the mess.And it was messy.  Suffice to say, there was a miscommunication between my cousin and the hotel, largely because of their website & automated booking process.  I could, however, have smoothed it all out in minutes by putting my credit card down and signing a piece of paper.I didn't.Instead, we helped him find another hotel in the area that would accept his reservation without the need for my very legal and binding assurances.  And a good time was had by him and his guests.If we had not been able to find that other hotel, he'd have been S.O.L.* or, more accurately, not all of life's rules are created equal.  It is each person's task of the moment to evaluate which rules take precedence at any given time.  Which ones we prioritize and when and how consistently is called "character."</blockquote>

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