Journal 7: Mad or making some sense?

Quote:

MAD, adj.
Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence; not conforming to standards of thought, speech and action derived by the conformants from study of themselves; at odds with the majority; in short, unusual. It is noteworthy that persons are pronounced mad by officials destitute of evidence that themselves are sane. (Bierce)

Summary:
This is another definition from Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary. He is basically saying anyone who behaves different from what society has established as correct and acceptable, will be considered crazy.

Response:
This is another definition that really caught my attention while reading the dictionary. I think this definition is mocking society itself and sends to an extreme what is considered mad. Bierce’s was focusing in the fact that anyone who tries to go against society’s rules and what is considered correct, will be judged, considered a stranger and probably separated from society in order to not interfere with the acceptable way of living.
I really like this definition because it reminded me of a novel I have read many times and that has always interested me, which is The Stranger by Albert Camus. The story is about a main character Meursault, who lives up to his own rules and does not share the common thoughts about love, marriage, happiness, god or what is considered a good life. For him it is all about the moment and what he enjoys doing, he does not worry about the consequences and even killed a man “because of the sun”. This man was judged and sentenced to death not for killing a man but for being different, which was condemned in his society. Therefore, he was considered a threat to the normal course of living, and he had to be eliminated.
I really consider there is a big relation between what Bierce describes as mad and what happened to Meursault. I do think that most of the time, people have a need to follow what is considered rightful by society, and there is only few of them who decide to live their own lives, even if they end up judged by society. However, it is really hard to fight against what everyone else thinks, which makes some people become “like everyone else”.