Most people are either great policies makers (including those who constantly pointing fingers to others and say, ‘you should do this/that‘) or rules abiding followers. We create all sort of policies to make people behave in a certain way, and made rules and regulations to ensure it is followed. On top of that, enforcement and regulators are put in place to nail down those who don’t. We are taught to live by the rules or face the consequences of not doing so.
But we fail to educate us to live by the principles of the rules… more importantly, the principles of life… principles of the universe.. the unbreakable Golden Rules that builds characters.
True test of characters comes in time of trial and tribulations. When one lives by the rules, it is a matter of ‘not getting into trouble with the enforcement’. When one lives by the principles, the right characters are build up.
How the Japanese responded in an orderly manner during the earth quake and tsunami disaster in March this year is amazing. The true test of the country’s communitarian attribute built through years of preparations is observed. That… is beyond what plain policies and rules can do.
Note: Communitarianism emphasizes the need to balance individual rights and interests with that of the community as a whole, and argues that individual people (or citizens) are shaped by the cultures and values of their communities (Wikipedia).
