Follow these simple rules and you will: lose weight, become famous, make a fortune on the stock market, buy a great cheap house, go to study in Australia, meet lots of student friends in Australia, become an expert in Quantum Mechanics, learn perfect English, be able to enter Australian Idols, find your partner for life, become a Master Chef, last longer during sex, have more time for fitness, get a permanent residency and enter Nirvana.

In this globalised world, where life is more complex than ever before, people seem to look for simple guiding rules. And the media throws them at you in bucket loads. Do they help? Well, unfortunately usually not. As everyone’s situation is different, there are no general rules for behaviour or decision making. So maybe it is time for us to start thinking again. Instead of following everyone else’s rules, why not come up with an original thought, a solution that fits you, a decision that helps you further down the path of life?

 

Does this mean that we should forget about rules? I am not sure about that either. I come from a country where rules are in place to be broken. The famous `Dutch Tolerance` became an acceptance of everything and a denial of the need for rules and authority in society. But accepting everything as long as it does not discriminate someone else, also meant that people lost respect for `the way we do things around here`, as culture can be described. Etiquettes and rules sustain a national culture, if we like it or not. Historically, England has always been very strict about rules. In English culture (as well as many Asian countries), etiquettes and social rules are seen as extremely important and you are not supposed to break a rule. The reason for having these rules is to keep order and control in a society that is divided in a range of classes. It has led to a generation of lower class British teenagers that stood up against these rules. A large percentage is now totally out of control, reflected in number one positions in Europe of teenage pregnancies, youth alcohol consumption and violent crime rates amongst youth.

Australians adopted the love affair with rules from the English. A quick look at the photo with this article, showing Sydney’s famous Bronte beach illustrates this: what are you allowed to do on this beach? Aussies will never jump a queue, are obliged to vote and will obey silly road rules like waiting for pedestrian crossing lights, when no car is in sight for about a hundred kilometres. But Australians are different from their English ancestors, more relaxed about rules. The best way to describe this is to take a look at `Aussie Rules`. It is the Australian way of playing football and for a foreigner it is a contradiction in terms: watching this game, it seems that there are no rules. Players get bashed, bumped and tackled and fights break out in one part of the field, but the game goes on. As long as the tackle is fair and no punches are thrown, Aussies will cheer the players. And this is where Australian rules are different from for example the English rules, which are designed to keep order in society. Australian culture is about equality and a fair go, and the Australian social rules reflect that desire for everyone to have a fair go. It means that rules are not discriminating but rather focus on inclusion of everyone. Assie rules are about sportsmanship and equal terms.

I’ve very much started to appreciate the respect for fair rules in Australia but unfortunately there is a fine line between `English type of rules for control` and `Aussie rules for a fair go`, and there has been pressure, particularly under the former Howard government to bring in a more English type of rules for control. It may be the reason why Australian teenagers are more drawn towards English problems like binge drinking. So I plead Australia to please stick to the Aussie rules, for fairness sake!