Contrary to appearances ... I am not a contrarian. What I am trying to do is to think through rational arguments in a world controlled by group think.
Rational thinkers will often appear as contrarians in societies driven by a herd mentality as the person who is trying to discuss underlying issues will often be at odds with current fashions or manufactured fears.
A contrarian is a person who randomly spouts forth with contrary opinions.
True contrarians are often driven by a dislike for a particular person or group. A contrarian sees the person he dislikes and automatically disagrees with the things the person says.
Contrarians are often partisan. A partisan dislikes the opposition and immediately forms arguments counter to the expressed position of the opposition.
Professional contrarians, and their counter part the apologist, exist on both sides of the political spectrum. Readers of my blog will realize that I am driven to distraction by both the left and right. I fear that both parties have given up on rational discourse and simply engage in base partisan bickering for the soul purpose of partisan bickering.
Attempting to stand for truth in the modern age entails standing against both the left and right. People trying to discuss issues at a foundational level often appear contrarian despite the fact that they are the least contrarian of the lot.
The partisan ideology of the modern age has created a paradoxical world in which the people who are committed to sound rational thinking tend to appear as contrarians while those who are undermining our ability to engage in discourse cloak their misdeeds in apologetics.
One can judge intention by demeanor. The term contrarian simply provides another example of the paradoxical thinking which defines the world in the modern age.
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