"Here the question arises; whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved. The answer is that it would be desirable to be both but, since that is difficult, it is much safer to be feared than to be loved, if one must choose. "

- Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

"This wasn't funny at all. The people in the crowd shuffled their feet and avoided each other's eyes. Then for a third time, most quietly of all, Ira Hath said, 'O unhappy people. I hear your hearts crying, for want of kindness.'
No one ever said such things in Aramanth. The people heard her in shocked silence. Then they began to leave, in ones and twos, and Ira Hath knew she had proved herself a true prophetess, because none could bear to hear her speak."

- William Nicholson, The Wind Singer

“I just think, like our teachers here, that if ministers are effective, they’re good at asking questions to get you to think. I don’t think they’re supposed to have the answers. Not necessarily.”

- Elphaba, Wicked

Everything I try to say may be summed up thusly:

When you read, think.
When you think, understand.
When you understand, apply.

Rules

Life is full of rules . . .

Some are created by powers beyond our control . . .

Some are created by those above us . . .

Some are created by our peers . . .

In our desperate attempt to abandon these rules . . .

We end up creating more . . .

So the real question is not "will you follow the rules?"

The real question is: which rules will you follow?