Half the time my comments get downvoted, even when they adhere to the rules. Take away the popularity contest and maybe I'll stop feeling so irreverent.

No one needs to be reverent. Everyone needs to follow the guidelines. I took a look at your recent comments. Only a handful are downvoted, and of those, most are either unsubstantive or flamebaity, so for me your view here seems a little out of sync with the situation.

Getting downvoted can feel pretty harsh. It sucks, but it happens to everyone. The only thing that really works is not to take it personally, give what you wrote an honest look to see what might have prompted the downvote, correct that if you can, and move on. Remember that it has nothing to do with you. People see what they see in internet comments—yours, mine, and everyone else's—for their own reasons.