Perhaps when a society remains stable for a long time, the majority who are obedient to the norm are its anchor and its strength—hence the term “solid citizens”—but when a society is in flux and conditions are changing, the old adaptations are no longer suited and it is likely that those at the fringes, the outcasts and eccentrics, will discover that qualities which had previously been shunned are now eminently useful for the survival of the community, precisely because they are eccentric by the traditional definition, and thus in closer proximity to the emerging reality. Those who had been despised become the new heroes.
But still, who’s going to determine if the society is stable or in hazardous times? and anyways, there is always room for improvement.
For most of our lifetimes, change has been accelerating, and I think it’s fairly obvious that we’re in hazardous times today … based on the energy crisis, the financial crisis, international competition for power … so that’s what I was referring to.
Of course there’s always room for improvement, the question is to whom we should be looking for ideas on how to proceed? … I think that in unstable times, it’s the freaks and eccentrics who do it best … as Hunter S. Thompson said, “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro” … which may be why Obama the “outsider” is the perfect pick right now … of course today’s outsiders are tomorrow’s mainstream, but that’s another post ;)