Gordy,
The pickle for working pilots (unlike our bureaucratic brethren) is we have to make decisions....constantly.....and everyone including heavenly bodies (not the female kind) weigh in on the outcomes. We live and die by our decisions.....and in those cases where we don't (make a decision) we can snuff it as well.
Then after it is all done but the finger pointing and hand wringing.....we or our heirs have to defend what we do/did. We don't get the luxury of hiding behind a pile of paperwork and bovine fecal matter like those who sit in judgement of us.
If the rules were black and white.....all those highly paid and perk laden drones would be out of a job and thus be faced with "earning" a living.