What is normal, and the importance of why?

In today’s world when we ask why? We are often told simply “because”. From the moment we are born, we are told to conform to what we are told. Told what to do, told what is normal and abnormal. Our parents and our teachers drum in to us that we must do what we are told, and the reason is simply that “they said so”. I recall asking my sister one day when her children were young, why when they had asked for a biscuit she said “no”. Her answer was “I don’t really know”. I find myself saying this to my children, and they invariably ask why? My answer; “because I said so”.

Recently my son asked me about making money, and I had to eventually, after lots of “why’s?”, explain the tax system to him. When I said that the government take off, on average, 40% of your wages before it even hits your bank account (and then explained what 40% means), he actually gasped! He’s 7, and even he understood the impact of that. He declared “that’s not fair!” and of course asked why? He was even more shocked when I told him pretty much everything in our life is taxed, from the TV and the food we eat, to the homes we live in. He just kept asking “why?”.

I had to then explain that it was the government who set the taxes. He said, “so we have to do whatever the government tell us to do?”. So I said, “No”, “the government have to do what we tell them”. I could see the look of confusion in his face, he didn’t ask the question, but I’m pretty sure he was thinking “so why the hell did you tell them to take all our money!”