Rules of Justice

Several weeks ago I noticed the posting of a new sign at my local dog park. It was titled Suggested Guidelines. The sign that used to be there was simply titled Rules for Dog Park. The items listed were pretty much the same. The only difference was who wrote them. Who titled them. This sent me off to explore what exactly are the similarities and differences between the terms rules and guidelines.

Of course, as with most things that raise my curiosity, there were several more questions raised and a multitude of answers presented. So I decided to eliminate any thesaurus or ordinary word dictionary from my query. This would create a narrowing of the ambiguous and mundane definitions--leaving me with a less muddled understanding of what had been established at dog park.

Black's Law Dictionary (Thomson/West 2005) had what I believe to be the best definition of why we even have rules or guidelines in a civilized society. I found that the rule of justice summed up the rationale for why we need and not just require them. It basically states that an individual's sphere of liberty in pursuit of their own best interest is confined or limited by the protection of the best interest of all individual liberties. Specifically they must be consistent with the general welfare of humankind. 

Rules protect people from other people, or counter ideologies, and even from themselves. This is the idea behind the structuring of the rules and laws developed by governing bodies. Everyone should be confident that they are protected as they go about their daily lives. Everyone should also be confident that they have a level of freedom to live in a way of their choosing. Rules actually promote both.

Daily lives can be guided by suggestions of particular or potential directions one might traverse in the pursuit of a good life (assuming that is what most people desire). But the path one chooses must be consistent with allowing other individuals to be able to do the same. As we go about living our lives, thoughtful consideration of people around us is a critical decision that we must make to maintain a civilized society.

So please pick up after your dog and shut the gate behind you...

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