2. The importance of written or documented rules

It seems like there are rules for everything these days. Some are written down, and some are just understood. When rules are written down, they generally are followed more precisely. There are several pros to writting down rules that one hopes to enforce. If there is an actual place where someone can refer back to a rule, it is much easier to hold someone accountable when they have been accused of breaking said rule. Alternatively, rules that are just assumed or understood are easier to break and there is less evidence against someone when they break the rule, for there is no actual documentation, just word of mouth. The main reason rules should be written down is because if they are not, they will most likely be broken more often with fewer consequences. If there were no rules or punishments for breaking the rules, people would run around doing whatever they want and no one would be able to tell them not to. America's set of rules ultimately comes from the Constitution. The enforcers of these rules are police officers, judges, and anyone else in an authoritative position. For Christians, rules come from the Bible in the form of the Ten Commandments. There is punishment for breaking the rules, but it is not exactly definite due to grace, mercy, et cetera. The enforcer of these rules would be, well, God. In any given household, there are sets of rules, each unique depending on the family. Most of the time there are not written rules for a family, so they are simply understood. This makes it a little more difficult for the enforcers of the rules, the parents, especially if they do not agree on the rules. Behavior expectations are much more clear for everyone involved when rules are established and even more so when they are recorded in the form of a law or constitution or contract. There is a saying "ignorance of the law excuses no man", which refers to the notion a person may not plead innocent just because they are unaware of a law. If a law exsists, people are responsible for knowing it and acting accordingly.