Make America Kind Again

This article was featured in our weekly newsletter, the Liberator Online. To receive it in your inbox, sign up here. We’ve all seen the slogan by a certain Presidential candidate, telling us that voting for him will make America great again. I’m not particularly interested in the America he’s described in debates, rallies, and in the media. I’m more interested in being kind to others. I’m more interested in others being kind in turn. I’m most interested in the proliferation of kindness. What if we were more friendly, generous, and considerate? Would we find ourselves to be easily achieving the libertarian ideals of peace, prosperity, and harmony? More importantly, would we be happier? Thomas Jefferson recognized that we have “certain unalienable Rights,” Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Wouldn’t we be the ones to set the example? To continue interacting, whether in the marketplace or in personal relationships, all parties would have to benefit from that interaction. Peaceful, voluntary interactions enshrined in libertarian philosophy go hand in hand with being kind. After all, who wants to deal with someone who isn’t? How likely would you be to continue to patron a business where everyone was unpleasant or unkind? Would you willingly submit to being treated in an unfriendly, stingy, or inconsiderate manner? Think about who needs force and protection to stick around. It’s the business that can’t earn your patronage without regulations or protection of their monopoly. How do you think Comcast is still around? Would those who sought to segregate people by ethnicity fifty years ago or more have been able to do so without the government enforcing Jim Crow laws? Let’s take this moment in time to pair our libertarian activism, outreach, and persuasion with being kind and see where that takes us. We will certainly set ourselves apart from those wishing to use force to proliferate their ideas, and we’ll have more pleasant conversations and relationships as we do it. Kindness doesn’t cost a thing, so sprinkle it everywhere.