Double Standards

This post was never planned though the thoughts expressed here have been frequenting my mind quite often. An incident which happened last night has raised many questions and is thus the driving force for the post.
We humans as individuals always set certain boundaries for self as well as our near and dear ones, we expect people around us to behave,act and talk in a certain way most of the times, we set rules, define relationships, specify whats right and whats not. However what i fail to understand is that why is it that we do not follow what we preach? Why is that we advise others on not doing something but dont hesitate doing it ourselves? When someone wants to listen to their heart, follow his/her dreams, live life on their own terms we either do not let that happen or make situations difficult for them but when it comes to oneself we find ways of justifying our ways and give several excuses to explain our stand. Why is that we give hundreds of reasons to support what we do and believe in and still not give others that one single chance, a chance that can change their entire life?
What is worng for others suddenly becomes right for self and everything else becomes immaterial irrespective of the truth and the intensity of the situation and yet remains wrong for others. Why is it that we follow Double Standards? Why can't rules be the same irrespective of the age, caste, religion, gender, social status etc.
Is it because of the way we are brought up, the society we live in, the values we hold or is it simply because of an inherent human nature or a selfish gene that exists within us.Why dont we understand whats told loud and clear to us and instead try to find out the hidden meaning of whats not told and then make our own conclusions. Why is it that we hurt those people the most who we indeed love and care about. Many a times even when we know we are right and have all the liberty to talk about it, to express, alas we realize that we have no choice but feel helpless and laugh at it. Would life have been simpler and meaningful had it not been just about trying to impress people or the so called society around us, being submissive to the ones who have authority & giving up what you strongly believe in. Why cant we just be our ownself and shed the masks?? Why cant we believe in the happiness of others??