Most of us might have felt a fleeting urge to kill someone once, wished we could rob a bank so we could afford a world cruise or merely noted that it would be easy to walk out of a shop without paying for something.
We dont act on any of these thoughts because we see ourselves as law abiding, and we are, or are we?
Being Proudly South African means upholding and respecting the laws of the land. All of them. It is not so easy
The little laws that we think are silly, inconvenient or just dont suit us tend to be the laws we break, often with a clear conscience.
How many of these can you tick off as laws you always obey?
1. Traffic violations. Think speeding on a deserted road , stopping at a stop street when there is nothing coming, driving after a few beers cos you are fine, parking illegally after driving around for 10 minutes looking for a space. Done any of these ever?
2. Insurance claims. The always say you were under insured so you might as well pad the claim a little bit, just to break even, after all, you pay high premiums every month
3. Pirated goods. The music, the series, the movie that you cant wait for, or dont want to pay high street prices for. So you copy from your friends, buy from a guy who knows a guy or download from a site you were told about, every one does it
4. Tax. SARS are good these days, but do you have a great accountant who knows all the “mostly legal” loopholes, are you registered for tax, do you have some cash transactions that dont go through your books ?
5. Licenses. Car, TV, Fishing, permits for everything… do you comply ? What am I paying this for, another money making racket for the government that taxes me to death
6. Reporting. Everyone knows what x is doing, so surprised he has not been caught yet. Someone will blow the whistle on him , someone else that is. I dont want to get involved
7. Petty theft and fraud. A few pens and things from the stationery cupboard, my employer makes millions and pays me peanuts, they can afford it. Creative expense and travel claims to make up for the crappy salary they pay me ?
Could we be more law abiding? I could.
Please add to this as I am sure I have left out many little laws we prefer not to apply to ourselves.
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