Short Stories & Poems by WarmBreezeBliss

A few days ago, I was driving to an appointment. I encountered a motorbike taxi rider. He abruptly stopped in the middle of the road. To my surprise, he stopped to drop off his passenger! A very elegant young lady in leggings hopped off. They were less than ten metres ahead of me, so I honked—alerting both the rider and the car close behind. It seemed obvious that the rider simply pulled over to the side, allowing his passenger to disembark safely. Instead, he sped off oblivious of other motorists and riders on that busy little road. His passenger, raised his hands defiantly declaring, “This is our freedom!” The remark, coming from a man in his late fifties, left me unsettled. How does disregarding rules equate to freedom?

As I continued my drive, I reflected on this paradox. Many road users seem to believe that breaking rules is an expression of liberty. All the same, this mindset directly undermines the very regulations designed to protect us. It reveals a troubling reality: personal freedoms, when misapplied, can erode the collective good.

We often imagine freedom and rules as opposites—freedom as boundless choice, rules as restriction. True freedom is not the absence of structure. It’s the ability to thrive within a framework that safeguards it.

Consider the traffic light. It restricts your ability to move whenever you wish. In contrast, by doing so, it ensures safe and efficient travel for everyone. This principle extends beyond the road—it is the foundation of society itself.

How Rules Protect Freedom

• Laws Secure Safety: Prohibitions like theft limit certain actions, but they guarantee freedom from harm. Without them, only the strongest would be “free.”
• Norms Build Trust: Social conventions—waiting your turn, speaking truthfully—create predictability. This trust enables collaboration, commerce, and relationships.
• Institutions Uphold Rights: Courts and governments help turn our freedoms into everyday realities, protecting rights and ensuring fairness.

True freedom, then, is not found in defiance of rules but in living within them. It is the balance between individual choice and collective responsibility that allows liberty to flourish.