Not applicable
QUESTIONNAIRES on forms like visa applications, disclosure statements for regulated industries, and even surveys for market research allow for the irrelevance of an item for a specific individual by adding a tick box, “Not Applicable.”
A market survey on smoking may ask when did you last smoke a cigarette? — Last three months, last six months, over a year. The nonsmoker will rightly tick off “not applicable.”
Applicability ensures that the ones who choose to answer a form constitute a valid sample group. Still, the applicability of a question is left for the respondent to determine. A person qualified to answer may opt not to and simply check the NA box, especially when dealing with financial information or conflicts of interests.
Applicability does not refer only to surveys. They are also appropriate for rules. The usual assertion that “no one is above the law” is about as reliable as statements like “the check is in the mail,” “snake tastes like chicken,” or “please wait for a complaint assistant to attend to you.”
In some cases, rules that are meant to apply to everyone are shrugged off as “not applicable” to some.
On a free seating section for a ballgame, early comers will reserve whole rows of seats with token evidence of occupants still in their homes taking a bath but theoretically just out of their seats for a while and about to return in a few minutes. (Sir, they’re just buying some popcorn — two rows of them.) The reserved row starts off with something hefty like a backpack as a sign of occupancy. From the 4th empty seat, the tokens become less imposing, including napkins, a drinking straw, a torn ticket, and even a loud voice. Can the first-come-first-sat rule in seating arrangements be imposed by just setting aside the torn ticket, and taking the seat? (Don’t look around.)
Formal receptions do not trust free seating. There are assigned tables and even name cards on the premier tables. This prevents gate crashers too from just plopping down at an empty table.
Government VIPs are used to the idea that traffic is an obstruction they can routinely ignore with their police escorts like Moses parting the Red Sea. Now and then, if the halting of cars to clear the way for the VIP takes too long, media can have video footage of the mess. A traffic enforcer who mentions the name of the VIP involved can even be sacked, calling even more attention to the egregious violation of traffic rules.
The lack of applicable restrictions can be temporary and depend on one’s current position. The simple rule of wearing an ID inside corporate premises is routinely waived for senior executives. The habit of walking around heedless of ID restrictions comes home to an individual who has retired from the company coming to visit for coffee. (Sir, can you sign in and leave a government-issued ID.)
Restricted facilities like toilets for the disabled and elderly are occasionally used by sprightly females who slip in and out in a hurry. (The ladies’ room is full.) Are they caregivers, perhaps assisting the elderly? Is the patient still inside?
It is the sign of a country’s maturity and advanced level of development when rules apply equally to everybody from top to bottom. This expected compliance for all leads to greater efficiency and planning. If nobody can jump the queue for a taxi or tax refund, it is easier to maintain systems that eschew human intervention. The computer just checks the next number in line and does not discriminate depending on net worth or proximity to power in maintaining the service sequence. Bureaucracy can then be as efficient as a fast-food order.
What is corruption after all if not the privilege (either paid for or provided as part of the benefits of blood relation) to be exempt from rules like proper bidding or screening to fill a public position? The rationale for graft rests on the simple notion that in exchange for money (larger sums for larger exemptions and benefits) one is allowed the privilege of specific rules that are rendered irrelevant.
Economic and political development rests on the universal application of laws. This guidepost of a democratic society is derailed when some feel entitled to simply ignore them… as not applicable.
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
