It's a Rule

It's a rule.

What does that mean? It means it is not a suggestion, hint, idea, nudge, wish, request, dream, wink, or recommendation. 

It means a requirement; a rigid guideline that is supposed to be followed.

"Rules are made to be broken?" Yeah, we've all heard and have leaned - along with a legion of idiots - on that bit of wisdom but a rule that is frequently and casually broken is no longer a rule. It is an empty shell of a rule, a parody of real rules and should be replaced.

Breaking rules is often portrayed as a sign of strength, independence, and boldness. In reality, a great many rules are broken by the undisciplined, the lazy, and the sloppy. Let's be honest, there are times when all of us fall within those ranks. In most cases, our breaking of a rule did not produce great progress. We didn't take great pride in our action. In retrospect, we regarded our conduct as a lapse and tried to wrap it in a bundle of rationalizations.

You want to have a few rules, but only a few. If you have a lot, then you are just asking for frequent violations of the unnecessary ones and eventually respect for all rules will diminish. Use of the very word "rule" should be conservatively applied. 

But when a form of conduct is called a rule, that should mean something.

Hey, it's a rule.