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So, if you don’t fit in, if you feel at odds with the world, if your identity is troubled and frayed, if you feel lost and ashamed - it could be because you have retained the human values you were supposed to have discarded. You are a deviant. Be proud.
George Monbiot
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Being different can be a sign of holding onto important human values.

This quote speaks to the idea that feeling out of place or troubled in a conformist society may indicate a deeper connection to fundamental human values that others have abandoned. It encourages individuals to embrace their uniqueness and be proud of their deviancy as a testament to their integrity and authenticity.

Themes

IndividualityValuesDeviantIdentitySocietyPrideAuthenticity

In practice

Example use cases

A motivational speaker could use this quote to encourage youth to embrace their uniqueness.

More from George Monbiot

The notions that nature exists to serve us; that its value consists of the instrumental benefits we can extract; that this value can be measured in cash terms; and that what can't be measured does not matter, have proved lethal to the rest of life on Earth.
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I believe that anyone who wants to stand in a national election should receive a course of psychotherapy. Completing the course should be a qualification for office. This wouldn't change the behaviour of psychopaths, but it might prevent some people who exercise power from imposing their own deep wounds on others.
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I became an environmentalist because I love the living world, but I spend much of my life thinking about electricity, industrial processes and civil engineering.
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Places that have become agricultural deserts, trashed by giant corporations, could be reforested, drawing carbon dioxide from the air on a vast scale. The ecosystems of land and sea could recover, not just in pockets but across great tracts of the planet.
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Never underestimate the power of intrinsic values. They inspire every struggle for a better world.
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Why is it so easy to save the banks - but so hard to save the biosphere?
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