“Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.”
-Finley Peter Dunne
I disagreed with Christopher Hitchens on virtually every subject. He routinely attacked with great vigor my God, my Church, and my favorite saint. He was unquestionably brilliant, and equally flawed. He was as polemical and pompous as any hell-fire-and-damnation preacher, and as dogmatic about his Enlightenment-inspired gospel as any fundamentalist “true believer.” So it might come as something of a surprise to hear me state that I was strangely moved by the news of his passing, and will miss him. He was one of my favorite contrarians, and he once more served me as a catalyst for deeper reflection…this time about contrariness as a virtue.
Now, to be clear there is a major difference between a virtue and a personality trait. A virtue makes you, and those around you, better. A personality trait does not. Contrariness as a virtue is prophetic, contrariness as a trait is problematic. Did Hitchens practice contrariness as a virtue or simply a trait? I’ll humbly leave that judgment, and the ultimate judgment about his life’s work, to a merciful and loving God (and yes, that’s me being a bit of a contrarian).
Contrarians attack the status quo, the comfortable, the people and systems that appear to be above challenge, and questioning, and accountability. And to that end, they serve a necessary role in a world that desperately needs checks-and-balances. We may often want to dismiss them as lunatics, radicals, and trouble-makers, but we’d best not.
The virtue of contrariness is rooted in a love for justice and truth, and will courageously attack sacred cows for the sake of the sacred. As a virtue, contrariness protects the vulnerable against abuses of power, and reminds the world that easier doesn’t necessarily mean better, and rightness is not decided by a majority opinion.
Contrarians are disturbers of the peace, but is it a peace that’s well-deserved? Contrarians are outsiders, but truth-tellers often are. Contrarians are atheists (or as Hitchens preferred “anti-theists”), but they can also be deeply religious (see: Christ, Jesus). Contrarians are hard to categorize, but in an extraordinarily complex world isn’t that appropriate?
Most of us don’t like conflict, we don’t like rocking the boat, and we definitely don’t like to be disliked. But the struggle for a better world has never been neat and tidy. And we will never become who we’re meant to be (responsible, decent, loving human beings) if we’re not willing to get outside our comfort zones, ask hard questions, wrestle with the status-quo, confront rigidity…and maybe even on occasion challenge others to do the same.
Question for reflection: How do you challenge hypocrisy, double standards, and injustices in the world and in your home?
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About Me
- Ross Porter
- Dr. Ross Porter received his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Master of Divinity (Theology) and Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he first became interested in the integration of psychology and spirituality. He is a teacher, author, counselor, and consultant, specializing in integrative psychology, virtue ethics and family systems. He has taught at the high school, college, and graduate school levels. Ross is also the Founder and Executive Director of Stillpoint Family Resources, a non-profit organization that offers counseling services to individuals, couples, and families in crisis, with nine different office locations throughout Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange Counties (specific office locations can be found at www.stillpointfamilyresources.org). In 2009, Dr. Porter was named an “Outstanding Angeleno” by the Los Angeles Daily News. Ross and his wife Jennifer have been married for 21 years, and have four beautiful children. John Michael, their son who has Down Syndrome is their first born.
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