Law refers to the body of rules created by a government’s legislature or other authorities with penalties like fines or jail for breaking them while rules are guidelines set by individuals or groups for a specific context with milder consequences like exclusion. Both are meant to guide behavior and maintain order and also a binding force or obligation such as “his word is law”.
Hi readers!
You must have heard the phrase that, “Nobody is above the law” but never have heard the phrase that “nobody is below the law”. We certainly don’t need permission when we ask anybody to obey the law.
But the big question is:
When a traffic police stopped a vehicle being driven dangerously on the road and driver ran away instead of stopping, who do you think is at fault? traffic rules, law enforcer or the driver?
Certainly, the driver who ran away and the law enforcer will not find and punish him because the traffic law is in the book and in practice is traffic rule which is “show me the man and I will show you the rule” because the rule is not for the powerful and their kith and kins, who can go escort free making victory sign after brutally killing poor restaurant’s workers on the road.
A bigwig accused (untruthfully) another bigwig of taking huge bribe of billions to keep the accuser’s mouth shut.
When the accused filed a lawsuit for defamation and lying, the accuser didn’t appear in court of law because he thought he was above the law which is only few words in the book. So, he can lie and can defame others too because he is licensed for it, which is the rule in practice.
All and every women going to the market is harassed in a way or other and most common is “staring” (worst of all harassments).
Ironically, every women is also aware of the fact that she is protected through harassment law, but she will seldom complaint because it will defame her as harassment law is in the book and in practice is rule through which, she is generally considered below the law.
When the traffic police stop a running car and ask for the driving license, the driver instead of showing the license often starts shouting: “how dare you asking for my license”? Don’t you know who I am”(thinking that police officer should request for his permission first if at all he has to check his driving license).
The police officer is bound by the law to check the driving license of the bad drivers and not for their permission and say: Sir, I know you are a son of an XYZ, can I check your driving license please? The rule in practice however, says that occasionally, he has to seek permission because the XYZ is a man of power (misused by his dear one) which is rule in practice and is contrary to Julius Caesar saying,
“If you must break the law, do it to seize power (use borrowed power in this case), in all other cases observe it because there is no greater tyranny (cruelty) than that which is perpetrated (executed) under the shield of the law and in the name of justice”.
Official secret act linked with capital punishment is a law which everyone has to sign before joining the duty as Government servant.
Yet, every other day, we hear stories of violation of this law while the violators are not punished for years because the rule is that authorities who can punish the violators may face the same music in future too. Meaning thereby, it is better to follow rules to protect yourself instead of protecting the law and that’s one of the biggest problems in maintaining law and order in this country.
Dear readers, I can quote hundreds of example of rules (instead of laws) in practice but, if you got my point, just look around carefully and you will immediately find the reality that
“rules in practice are actually the laws in this country”.
See you next time. Take care. Bye
