It seems to be considered desirable to be a rebel. We seem to be in love with the idea of not conforming to the standards of society. We tend to celebrate those who don’t quite fit in. We love those who are different. But who are the true non-conformists in our society? Who are the true rebels? The truth is that we don’t usually find them in the obvious places. It’s funny, because many who think they are so against the grain, pretty much still toe the line of conformity. For instance, many bikers tend to have tattoos, wear leather and have long hair and beards. They may stand out from those in so-called conventional society, but they kind of fit in with one another. And I may be wrong, but it almost seems as if they have to look a certain way so that they do belong. That seems like the opposite of a rebel to me. Besides bikers, tattoos and piercings are a symbol of non-conformance and a sort of thumbing of the nose at polite society. But these people still conform, albeit to a different standard. Goths comform to the goth standard. Metal heads conform to the metal standard. The truth is that most of us do conform, even when we think we aren’t. It’s just a matter of to which group we conform. If nothing else, we worry whether our clothes are in style or not.  The point is that most people want to belong, whether it’s to larger society or some subset. How many of us are true non-conformists? How many truly don’t fit in? How many will follow wherever their heart and beliefs carry them, despite how alone that may make them? The truth is that there are very few who are willing to be true non-conformists and question the very pillars of sand on which polite society are based. I tend to think that those who find themselves on the outside really had no choice in the matter. They didn’t choose to rebel, they were different without trying. Circumstances simply align for some so that they see things in a way which is different than most. That doesn’t always mean that they see the truth, but many times I think it does. Those who don’t belong, by nature of their circumstances, tend to be able to see things more clearly, without the tint of the bias that one group or the other always seems to apply to whatever the issue happens to be. Many of those who don’t quite fit in actually look as if they do. They look as much a part of polite society as the next person. There is nothing on the outside which distinguishes them from the crowd in the least. But they see things in a way which is very different. Their views tend to clash with those across the political and social spectrum. And in the end they tend to be able to see truth that the masses fail to grasp. What’s funny is that the whole truth is out there. It’s just that very few tend to be able to put all of the pieces together. One side can be absolutely right about one thing, but dead wrong about something else, while the other side has it reversed. They are wrong about the first thing but right about the second. Why can’t people see the whole truth? Why can’t most seem to put all the pieces together? The reason for this, in most cases, is because they have to fit in. They feel the need to toe the line, even when maybe they know that line isn’t quite where it needs to be.  Why is it important to have non-conformists? Why should we want rebels? Do we really need people who rock the boat? I would argue that we do need the rebels. We do need the outsiders. This is because the crowd tends to lead itself astray. One group plays off of the other and we never seem to get to the truth. We never seem to find solutions. Those who find themselves on the outside usually seem to be able to see past all the nonsense. They are free from the bias that the group, whatever that group may be, brings. We need pot-stirrers. We need rabble-rousers. We need someone to tell us the truth. History has shown that the only ones who tend to be able to do that are the ones who are on the outside looking in.