I really don’t understand socialism, if I may use the word to describe how people interact and not in an economic sense. There seem to be rules about how people should interact with each other. Certain events are “fun” and we are supposed to enjoy them. Specific events require certain things of people, yet there are no rules. I like rules. They let me know what it is that I am allowed to due, how I should do it, and how far I can bend those rules. Social interaction is completely devoid of any such hard rules. One may point to a book of etiquette but the truth is that no one I know follows those rules and therefore not pertinent.

If there are no rules to apply to a situation, how should one approach the problem of acting correctly? Is form the most important thing? Is doing things on time and the right way what is important? Or are the reasons and motivations behind the actions more important? You, being an intelligent human being who thinks for yourself would argue that it is the motivation and thought that matters more than the action. It is the thought that counts. I would agree, but in society that is not good enough. If you break the rules of the formalities in order to carry out your good intentions, it is not allowed. There is no jury that will convict you of your crime, as I said there are no official rules, but there are still criminals.

In this world of fuzzy gray social etiquette I shy away from enacting the motions without any personal motivation for doing them. I am sure I fail in many other ways I am not aware of. Please accept my apologies for not doing a better job at following the socially acceptable norms. I will however continue in my quirky manners and will continue to confuse people who might be offended or misunderstand my actions. I try my best to get along with my fellow human beings. I play the games as well as I can in order to fit in with the rest of you. This is not meant as a criticism of your practices, but instead an insight into how those who do not intuitively understand the rules deal with this.

There is no comfortable place for people like this. Just because we feel that the standard social rules are inadequate doesn’t mean we have come up with better ones.

So go out and play the game, but remember why you play it. Play it because you have to, but embrace the things you do that break the rules for something better.