GREENMAN PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION WINNING ENTRY 2020

Be quiet!

Don’t fidget!

Stop doodling!

Are you chewing?

RULES! RULES! RULES! 

They’re everywhere!

We’re told that rules are meant to help us but;

• Rules restrict us!

• Rules tell us that we’re not trusted!

• Rules control the fun! … and so much more!

On average a child is taught 300 rules by the time they are 8. Yes, 300 rules! But have you ever heard of a great leader who simply followed the rules? Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Emmeline Pankhurst all represent equality, fairness, and freedom. And what do they have in common?  All of them broke the rules and all were imprisoned for breaking the rules.  I think the world owes these rule-breakers an incredible debt, don’t you agree?

I am fundamentally opposed to rules because rules are dangerous – rules can kill!

In 2002 Saudi Arabia's religious police stopped schoolgirls from leaving a blazing building because they were not wearing correct Islamic dress. They were beaten back from leaving the building. 15 died  as their parents looked on because the rules said they should have been wearing the headscarves and black robes. 

The horrors of Nazi Germany are well-documented. People turned against neighbours, business associates and friends. Jews  were persecuted, abused, experimented on and millions killed. Why? Because the rules said, Jews are bad. 

I live in a rule-free home. That’s right there are no rules! Instead we live by values. Values are the qualities that I hold dear, like kindness. I treat others as I want to be treated — with thoughtfulness, patience, and respect. I don’t need to be told that there’s rule about bullying or not to play loud music because  my values my values mean that this is how I live.

Last week, a 13-year-old named Jade, with a criminal record was interviewed from prison.  Jade comes from a loving home, went to a good school and had a great circle of friends. Jade explained how she was a ‘goody-two shoes’ never got into trouble, always [slow] played-by-the-rules. One day, faced with a situation where there were no rules, she made a monumental error in judgment. My heart sank as she told the interviewer that her friends will have finished university by the time she gets out. If Jade had had values to call upon rather than the void because she had no rule, she would not be in prison today.

Sometimes I’ll stay up all night to read a book, or watch a film. Twice, I have done this on a school night and on both occasions painful as it was, I went to school. Why? Because my parents and grandmothers taught me values,  one of which is appreciation, so I do not  squander opportunities to learn. 

Values are my compass. They guide me.

To truly be girls and women of character, we must demonstrate character when the rule book does not help.

To truly be a girl of character, I must draw my own line when no line has been drawn for me!

Rules suck! Rules control the fun! Rules can even  kill!