Devil's Advocates are those who go against the grain and speak the unpopular or oppositional point of view in order to bring balance and reality (which may be compassion and understanding) to the conversation. The key word is balance rather than truth, for truth itself is elusive and usually simply an agreed-upon convention, often seen as "tradition." Devil's Advocates are often seen as contrarians (and just as often are), however, in truth (and it is the truth in my case anyway), the imbalance (or bias or prejudice or ignorance or narrow-mindedness) of the moment is simply so obvious and so ridiculous or unjust or stupid that they have to "make it right" for the sake of all involved. The true Devil's Advocate is not arguing for the sake of argument but is serving the need for understanding in this moment of harmful and damaging unbalanced ignorance. The Devil's Advocate may seem negative, destructive, arrogant and insulting, however, he or she will do what is necessary to bring healthy chaos in the form of self-questioning to the those who are so certain and righteous and, worst of all, unquestioning of their points of view. The Devil's Advocate will even be willing to play the fool, sometimes shamelessly so, in order to bring about enough confusion, if necessary, to cause people to question themselves. In a roomful of righteous believers in God, the Devil's Advocate plays the atheist, while in a roomful of righteous atheists (which is actually rather rare), the Devil's Advocate plays the believer in God, presenting a strong argument in either case. So, the Devil's Advocate must know what he or she is talking about and be able to present it articulately, even eloquently. The purpose is always to make people think, to cause them to question their unquestioned certainties. Jesus himself was accused of being a literal Devil's Advocate, was he not? A blasphemer who performed miracles by the power of the devil?
Devil's Advocates are harder on themselves, seeking to bring reality and balance and understanding in their own being. They have restless souls and suffer from what Schopenhauer called "the pain (or sorrow) of the world." They feel unawareness and ignorance as a knife in their gut. They feel the harm caused by such ignorance and a crushing weight upon their backs, breaking their hearts. This causes them to seek greater contexts in which to exist. The truest and best Devil's Advocates are those who have "gone through it" themselves, those who have suffered and been humbled to the point that they do not act out of ego or a need to dominate, but rather out of selflessness and a desire to serve the good of humanity. It is a righteous, thankless path. We should listen to those who ruffle our feathers, who disagree with us, who cause us to question that which we hold so near and dear; they often speak the truth.
Devil's Advocates are harder on themselves, seeking to bring reality and balance and understanding in their own being. They have restless souls and suffer from what Schopenhauer called "the pain (or sorrow) of the world." They feel unawareness and ignorance as a knife in their gut. They feel the harm caused by such ignorance and a crushing weight upon their backs, breaking their hearts. This causes them to seek greater contexts in which to exist. The truest and best Devil's Advocates are those who have "gone through it" themselves, those who have suffered and been humbled to the point that they do not act out of ego or a need to dominate, but rather out of selflessness and a desire to serve the good of humanity. It is a righteous, thankless path. We should listen to those who ruffle our feathers, who disagree with us, who cause us to question that which we hold so near and dear; they often speak the truth.
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