Deviance in society can be depicted as a butterfly. The middle of the butterfly represents the norm, what is considered normal, neutral, or average. The norm is something that happens without much recognition or attention because it is so, well, normal. Anything that provokes thought is considered deviant, or violating the norms. Thus creating the wings.
Each wing embodies a different perception of the deviant behavior, positive and negative. Each perception, whether positive or negative, can be attributed to over-conformity or under/non-conformity within the wing. One half of one wing is made with admiration by society to an individual’s lack of conformity.
This is true in the case of anyone who rebels to achieve a morally higher cause, such as John Gotti who worked to provide his family and neighborhood with the means to a prosperous life by acting in ways that they themselves are considered negatively deviant. His positive intentions outweighed the negative behavior that went into creating his vision so that he was received positively (until the Law came into the picture) by society.
The other half is positively perceived over-conformity such as the totally unselfish acts of Mother Theresa who cared for people when most else would not. Both are considered positive by society because, despite that they were out of the norm, they were based on positive intentions.
People can relate to positive intentions better than negative ones. Now, on the other wing, the negatively perceived one, society can evaluate a deviant act with negative perception because of an individual lack of conformity to the norm. People want other people to be more like them because they believe that they are normal.
When someone steals from someone else, it is immediately perceived as wrong, negative. It’s just a basic principle, not to steal from your neighbor, and is considered negative. Also on that wing is the negatively received over-conformity or rate-buster. When someone does what others want rather than implementing their own true self, people recognize this and receive it negatively. This attempt to associate with reality is shunned because it involves effort. To be normal does not require effort. Its concept is is self-conflicting though, because people want others to be a part of their normal ideologies, but when someone over-conforms, they are still only implementing their beliefs, which they most likely believe is normal too. So in some cases, it seems as though society cannot be totally satisfied.
Society wants to be in the middle, neutral and balanced. But if this were the case with the butterfly, there would be no wings and the function of the butterfly to pollinate flowers would be impossible to achieve. The butterfly would become extinct for lack of ability to function according to essential means of survival. Thus said, deviance is essential to societal function.
With such described, it is my turn to approach this form a personal standpoint. There will always be people who practice one way and there will always be people who practice the other way. This truth depicts conflict. This eternal, multi-dimensional construct of reality blends good and evil and tests man by offering him Life in Eden or a taste of the Forbidden Fruit; a new experience.
Only so much can be projected from thought into words but there is a component of our beings that is comprised of belief, which turns on where words lead off. Belief is essential to a wholesome life. Anything can be perceived as good or bad at the same time but beliefs create a concrete conclusion. Beliefs, not being fact generated, but by raw instinct, have immense power that is not recognized on a formal level of governance. Our test as humans is to exist at peace with ourselves. But sometimes we are pressured to engage in something that we obviously do not desire engaging in, but something drives us to engage anyways. This is either God’s punishment for eating the apple or the work of the Devil. Either represents our test.
Earth is purgatory, neutral between heaven and hell which are Utopia and the opposite of such. This test is to prove to God that we are at peace with ourselves, as mentioned, but this pressure to engage in something that we do not wish to engage in is the test of the Devil too. God has moved us closer to the Devil in our Lives in order to test our will. We can meditate our entire lives, being completely passive, but knowing that there is death and famine outside of ourselves, regardless of our peacefulness, conjures up guilt and pain within us. These feelings are God’s punishment for disobeying him in the Beginning and the work of the Devil for us to prove our worthiness. Perhaps constant meditation is right living. If one never experiences any conscious distortion throughout Life, they will believe only in what they experience.
For the sake of existence, let us imagine ourselves participating in the spiritual experience of doing nothing but existing. Perhaps there are names for such, or perhaps I’m simply an ass trying to categorize something. But by doing nothing but breathing, one lives only in that moment, taking it as simply as possible as not to sway towards evil in any way. Evil is comprised of many spiritually recognized factors. Speaking alone is considered by some to be evil in that it distracts the consciousness from spiritual purity.
To simply live and breathe is right and wholesome. Doing such demands immaculate effort to live purely. Living within the spiritual cleanliness of good acts offers the soul acceptance. And acceptance, after all, is essential.
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