I used to include the following in my signature when posting on some forums on the Internet:
“I want to start a revolution of kindness.”
I still think kindness is important, though that particular revolution was started at other times by much more qualified people than I. The biggest reason I quit using it as my signature line was, I began to think people looked at those words and thought “bleeding heart liberal” or “easy mark” — or they saw it as just plain cheesy. I became self-conscious about it.
Why? Why do we think of kindness as uncool, naive, or unrealistic? (more…)