It’s kind of like how nervous cells compete for life in a developing unborn child. They all try to be special, the vast majority die and are reabsorbed, but some of the specialized cells stick and that’s how our brains connect to the rest of our bodies so well. From a biological standpoint it’s some kind of diversity-natural-selection-thingy. (not a psychologist or biologist, lol) There’s a lot of diversity for natural selection to work with, therefore helping the whole become stronger and survive.
Deviating for the sake of deviating is a real thing, I think, but deviation is especially common with people who don’t work well in the status quo. If one doesn’t work in the norm, become weird so that you might find a unique niche in which to thrive. Most deviations fail but hopefully we can build a society where most deviants don’t have to fail. Because although deviants are generally taxing and sometimes a little dangerous (and sometimes very dangerous,) they are what move society forward. Throughout history progress has proven not to be a steadily gradual thing, but it instead makes leaps at certain points where one special deviation became a norm and opened up the way for countless more for a while.
We couldn’t survive without our weird little deviants, and it’s a test for all of us to create a world where deviations can be brought to life and be tested freely without compromising social stability. That way, we wouldn’t have to wait for crashes in the cycle to begin new revolutions. We could just keep turning fairly smoothly. Without the hassle of mass-deaths and violent tyranny.
It’s when the deviations aren’t driven naturally that they become a little ridiculous. People use their weirdness as a crutch or shield, or as a distraction from what must be done. And maybe sometimes people are just broken. Nurture the honest weirdness in yourself, and in others. Just as long as stability is not needlessly compromised. Maximum diversity within the threshold of stability—that’s the natural goal of life, I think. It’s why freedom and self-determination are so important.
People need to feel special, because even if they’re not, there’s little chance for anyone to be special if they don’t believe they are. The regulations are here to keep the system stable, not to keep everyone down, (at least that’s how it’s supposed to be.) Common rules are secondary to the wishes of any individual. Though they’re usually a very authoritative secondary, that doesn’t mean they should be looked to as the model—just the limit. And limits need to be pushed.