📘 Part 3: Rules

This episode's vocabulary

To revolve around someone/something (phrasal verb) - to have someone or something as the main or most important interest or subject.

The golden rule (noun) - an important rule or principle, especially in a particular situation.

Applicable (adj.) - affecting or relating to a person or thing.

Household (noun) - a group of people, often a family, who live together.

To outline (verb) - to give the main facts about something.

A litany of something - a long list of unpleasant things, especially things that are repeated.

Policy (noun) - a set of ideas or a plan of what to do in particular situations that has been agreed to officially by a group of people, a business organization, a government, or a political party.

Dress code (noun) - an accepted way of dressing for a particular occasion or in a particular social group.

Code (noun) - a set of rules that are accepted as general principles, or a set of written rules that say how people in a particular organization or country should behave.

Procedure (noun) - a set of actions that is the official or accepted way of doing something.

Standpoint (noun) - a set of beliefs and ideas from which opinions and decisions are formed.

Litigious (adj.) - too often taking arguments to a court of law for a decision, especially to win money in a lawsuit.

Permissible (adj.) - allowed.

Unenforceable (adj.) - if a rule or law is unenforceable, it is impossible to force people to obey it.

To cordon something off (phrasal verb) - if people in authority, such as the police, cordon off a building or area, they put something around it in order to stop people from entering it.

To bypass (verb) - to ignore a rule or official authority.

Cordon (noun) - a line of police, soldiers, vehicles, etc. positioned around a particular area in order to prevent people from entering it.

Go to someone's head (idiom) - if something goes to someone's head, it makes that person think that they are very important and makes them a less pleasant person.

Corrupt (adj.) - dishonestly using your position or power to get an advantage, especially for money.

To govern (verb) - to have a direct effect or controlling influence on something.

Questions and Answers

M: What rules do most families have?

R: Well, they seem to mostly revolve around having good manners essentially. So things like not swearing, saying thank you, not being rude, whatever that means. That sort of thing. Which makes sense from a cultural perspective, if you want to maintain order.

M: What rules should children follow at home in your country?

R: Other than what I just said? Well, the golden rule is pretty... Oh, well, it's a pretty good one to follow from a psychological point of view. It's pretty logically consistent and easily applicable, just treat others how you would like to be treated.

M: On what occasions can children be forgiven if they don't follow some rules?

R: Most of the time the ones they didn't know about or couldn't have known about beforehand. For example, if a household has some kind of rule about not going near a pond in the garden, that's a really specific thing that you might have to outline beforehand.

M: What rules do people have in schools and workplaces in your country?

R: Oh, God, it seems like there's a never-ending litany of policies and rules that people need to keep them in line, like dress codes, codes of behaviour, procedures for various work processes. They probably make sense from a legal standpoint, since they're, well, people are increasingly litigious these days, but it's a huge burden on the memory. No wonder people forget them all the time.

M: What rules should people follow when using public transport?

R: Oh, without any doubt or qualification, keeping your music or your phone conversations to yourself. Absolutely no one wants to hear what other people have to say or to listen to on a train. Just from a social perspective, it's, well, exceptionally antisocial and really crosses the line disturbing other people and invading their personal space. Other rules related to shared spaces like that are also important if people are to get along well in these areas.

M: And what can be done about this?

R: Well, for a start, the train companies or whatever public transport company there is could have a sign saying that this is not permissible. And then the next thing would be for people to actually have, well, have the confidence to go up to the people breaking the rules and say, listen, this isn't fair, there are other people here on the train. Can you behave yourself? Or could you do the right thing and keep the noise down? That seems like a fair way to deal with this.

M: Why don't some people follow the rules?

R: Well, lots of reasons. Most obviously, some rules are just not worth following. Or they're unenforceable, like not using a public footpath that's been cordoned off. You can just bypass the cordon. From an individual standpoint, some people just think they're above the rules, and they can do what they like. Politicians, for example, break the rules all the time, because the power they have, it's completely gone to their heads.

M: Is it only because of the power people have they break the rules?

R: Oh, no. There's lots of other reasons. It could be... They're extremely corrupt, or they are greedy and want to make more money. So they break the rules in order to do that.

M: And do you think it would be better not to have rules at all?

R: I don't believe in rules. I think principles are the best way of governing a society. But that's just my own personal opinion.

M: Why?

R: Well, because if you have some common principles that are agreed upon, first of all, they're easier to remember and easier to put into action. And then you don't have to involve things like lawyers and what have you and massively overcomplicate the process.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!