There is a limit to everything we do, and more often than not, in my opinion, many things in life require common sense and rationale more than moral rules. One simple example is this. A man, M, from the city is driving through a village to get to another town. On his way, he accidentally knocks down a chicken. Coincidentally, that very chicken happened to be the pride of the village as it held a certain symbolic function. M knows that the right thing to do is to look around for the villagers and bear responsibility for his actions as he knew it was not on purpose.

But, he also knew that the villagers here were notorious for taking law into their own hands, and if they found out that he had killed their priceless and significant possession, they will probably go amok and kill him as payment for his mistake. Now, the law and morality emphasizes on being responsible and being brave to admit mistakes, but in such situations, it is only logic and common sense that M saves his own life first above all else.

Therefore, this shows to what extent human beings ought to adapt their behavior in such circumstances, and when they are forced to put morality aside temporary. The current condition of Iraq is another fine example. Right after the President Bush administration declared war against Saddam and his minions, there was nothing but complete chaos throughout the land. The hordes of people that once thronged the bustling streets of Baghdad once followed law and order established by the country. People can safely perform their daily routines and end their days peacefully.

When war was waged against the nation, there had been total unrest amongst the people. Law and order can no longer preserve the good behavior and nature of the citizens anymore. Amidst the rubble, the burning vehicles, and corpses that paved the heavily-bombarded streets, people flee for their lives, hoping to feign death by escaping the hail of stray bullets, rockets and artillery fire from both the warring factions. Some people take this as an opportunity to pillage and make a fortune from it.

Iraqi people were even gunning down their own kind out of sheer fright and fear. Such insanity has driven everyone involved in this ruthless war to forget about the very thing that once governed their morality : rules. As you can clearly see what had become of the people of Iraq when rules are no longer play a valid role anymore and is deemed non-existent. Even though situations have drastically changed over the period of the war and rules don’t really matter to anybody, people are deadly quick in adapting their behavior in that kind of situation.

I guessed it can’t be helped as the situation there has become so tense that a slight mistake made would even cost them their lives. As people always say, “Rules are meant to be broken” …. This is an undeniable fact for the Iraqi people as they think that since their government has been toppled, rules can no longer bog them down. They are free and willing to do whatever they please. If I were to be caught in that kind of predicament, I would have no choice but to follow the majority, as the cliche goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them”.