There was once a rather peculiar country named Crustea.  It seemed ordinary enough at first glance.  It was the Crustean Rules that set the nation apart.  But more about that later.
    The people of Crustea were very patriotic, by and large.  So patriotic, in fact, that actions were described in terms of whether they were good or bad for the country, or whether they fit the national character.  Anything bad for Crustea was described as "Anti-Crustean."  Anything deemed good for Crustea, on the other hand, was called "Pro-Crustean."  It was a very bad thing for anyone to be considered Anti-Crustean.
    But back to the Rules.  Crusteans were what you might call "minimalists."  They preferred a few simple rules to a lot of complicated ones.  Pretty good, huh?  For example, there was only one kind of garment, the sack.  Everyone wore a sack.  This eliminated all the uncertainty and time-wasting we go through getting dressed.  Is this a formal or casual affair?  Do I have to wear a dress to work?  Shall I wear the striped shirt or the Hawaiian shirt?  It also eliminated a lot of gender identification issues.  Does this make me look like a sissy?  Is this too "butch?"  For Crusteans, the answer to "What shall I wear?" was always "The sack."  So, they didn't even have to ask the question.
    Oh, yes.  One more thing.  Not only was there only one kind of garment, but there was also only one size.  No one had to spend a lot of time at the store trying on clothes.  In fact, Crustean clothing stores didn't even have fitting rooms, a nice saving of space.  No one ever had to exchange a sack because it was the wrong size.  What, you may ask, if they bought a defective sack?  Well, it's really hard to mess up a sack.  Any more than it already is.
    There was also only one kind of car.  It looked a bit like a Yugo and performed almost as well.  When Crusteans proudly drove their cars down the street and came to an intersection, they would encounter a traffic light.  It really was only one light, too.  Not the three we're used to seeing.  And the light had only one color, green.  Green meant "go," as it does to us.  But this did lead to a small problem.  All those cars that looked a bit like Yugos and performed almost as well tended to pile up on top of each other, with all the mayhem that implies.
    One day Xeno, a young Crustean, was scrambling out of his third Yugo-like automobile at a smoking intersection, when a thought occurred to him.
    "You know," mused Xeno, "if we had two different lights, with two different colors, one for stop, one for go, we could avoid a lot of this nonsense."
    Young Xeno immediately took his idea to the Bureau of Change Prevention.
    The Change Prevention Specialist was a man named Yabo.  "Forget it," he said.
    "I haven't even told you what my idea is yet," protested Xeno.
    "Forget it," said Yabo.
    But Xeno did not give up.  He enlisted the help of all the people who might have a stake in eliminating all the traffic accidents.  The insurance companies, which were about to go out of business from all the claims, were an easy sell.  Then came all the emergency services that had to clean up the mess.  The manufacturers and mechanics of the car that looked a bit like a Yugo and performed almost as well were a little harder to convince.  Accidents generated business.  But they were also killing a lot of customers, so these businesses also came around eventually.  With all this support, Xeno went back to the BCP to talk to Yabo.
    "Didn't I tell you to forget it?" asked Yabo.  "What are you, Anti-Crustean?"
    "But this time, I have people with money and influence behind me," explained Xeno.
    "Hmm.  That does make a difference," admitted Yabo.  "Well, ok, then.  Let's hear your idea."
    Xeno explained his idea to the Change Prevention Specialist.
    "Out of the question," said Yabo.  "You can't change a Pro-Crustean Rule!  Everyone wears a sack, everyone drives the same car, and one light at intersections.  That's the way it is."
    "Well, how about this?" suggested Xeno.  "We keep one green light, but we turn it off and on.  When the green light is on, you go.  When the green light is off, you stop.  That's still only one light.  We've stretched the case to fit the rule.  It's very Pro-Crustean!  And we eliminate a lot of those traffic accidents."
    Yabo wasn't sure, but Xeno did argue convincingly, and he did have people with money on his side.
    "Well, ok," said the Change Prevention Specialist finally, "but you have to follow our change procedures."
    "Great!  What are they?" asked Xeno.
    "You have to test it thoroughly and get approvals from all affected parties," said Yabo.  "Then we can schedule it."
    "Done and done!" said Xeno.  "Let's do it tomorrow!"
    "No way," said Yabo.  "You have to schedule at least two weeks in advance."
    "Why?" asked Xeno.
    "To make sure your change has been thoroughly reviewed," said Yabo.
    "It already has been," said Xeno.
    "Doesn't matter," said Yabo.  "Pro-Crustean Rule."
    "Oh, ok," sighed Xeno.  "Two weeks, then."
    "No way," said Yabo.  "Winter Moratorium starts in 13 days."
    "What's Winter Moratorium?" asked Xeno.
    "We discovered that winter is a very dangerous time to make changes," said Yabo.  "So, we don't make any."
    "What makes it dangerous?" asked Xeno.
    "Everyone stays home more and needs dependable heating," said Yabo.
    "I don't understand," said Xeno.
    "Of course, there's only one kind of heater," explained the Change Prevention Specialist patiently.
    "Of course.  Pro-Crustean Rule."
    "Right," continued Yabo.  "Well, once the heating technicians made a change to the heater during winter, and it didn't work!  Everyone was without heat for days!"
    "But this doesn't have anything to do with heating," said Xeno.  "In fact, winter would actually be a better time to put this change in.  As you said, people stay home more.  There will be less traffic on the roads!"
    "Doesn't matter," said Yabo.  "Pro-Crustean Rule."

    When the Winter Moratorium was over, Xeno called the Bureau of Change Prevention to see if his change had been implemented.
    Yabo answered the phone.  "Oh, that," he said.  "Yes, it has been implemented.  But we made one small change to make it better."
    Xeno felt a queasiness creeping into his stomach.
    "What did you do?" he asked.
    "Well, we determined that turning the light on and off violated the existing Pro-Crustean Rule," said Yabo.  "But don't worry!  We found the perfect solution.  Here it is:  The light remains green, as before, but we change the meaning of green.  Now it means 'stop.'  Ingenious, huh?"
    "Pro-Crustean Rules rule," said Xeno as he looked out on the long, motionless lines of cars that looked a bit like Yugos and performed hardly at all.

In Greek mythology, Procrustes was a robber who invited travellers into his house and made them sleep in his bed.  The catch was that Procrustes insisted that each person fit his bed exactly.  The bed wouldn't change to fit the person, so Procrustes fit the person to the bed.  If they were too short, he stretched them until they fit.  If they were too tall, he chopped off body parts until they fit.  Eventually, this lovely character was mercifully whacked by the hero Theseus, but he leaves us with the figure of speech "Procrustean bed."  One size fits all.  Any who don't fit are altered to fit.  I don't suppose you have ever run into anything like that...?  For my part, I confess to using Procrustean metaphors.  On occasion.