For at least two generations, kindness has been promoted as the highest virtue, the great guide for all our actions. "Be Kind" posters adorn the halls of schools from kindergarten to high school. Teachers exhort students to "be kind" to everyone, and especially to those of different color or culture or sexual orientation. Hate is rebuked, except when applied to oppose evil. So how is evil identified? By its words and deeds.

Prisons are not kind to those incarcerated. Police are not kind when they arrest criminals, ICE agents are not kind to the illegals they round up for deportation. Christians are not kind to gays when they call homosexuality sinful. Capitalism is not kind because it doesn't reward everyone equally. These examples and many more just show how evil we are. Just ask Nietzsche if you don' t believe me.

Whites are not kind to people of color when they point out that most of modern civilization is a product of white cultures. Americans are not kind when they point out how much greater America is than other countries. Math is not kind because it says some answers are more correct than others. In fact, just about any aspect of American, and even Western, life and culture can be shown to be unkind with only a little effort.

Anything Donald Trump supports must be evil and must be opposed at all costs. Likewise for Republicans and Conservatives and Christians and MAGA people. Islam must be good and truthful because all those evil Conservatives oppose it. Socialism is likewise good. Love is the expression of kindness, so gays and transgenders and minor attracted people must be good since they just want to spread love.

Evil people lie, so any argument these Republicans and Conservatives, and especially Donald Trump present--anything they say is good must be evil and a lie so it should never be believed. This makes things easy since anything that opposes kindness can be identified as a lie and should be dismissed.

Marxism and Socialism are kind because they make everyone equal and give everyone an equal share in the wealth of the society. Prisons and police should be abolished because they are unkind and evil. Criminals should be forgiven and returned to society because any bad deeds they did are in the past and no longer matter. Punishment is inhumane and unkind. America must be destroyed because it is unkind to migrants and other countries and to Communists and Palestinians.

Amazing! All that soup from one small carrot of kindness!

Being kind is not only a virtue, it is the only virtue. Not courage, or loyalty, or reason, or truthfulness, or justice, or temperance, or faith, or humility, or charity, or prudence, or patience, or ... the list goes on and on.

Interesting how kindness is one of the few virtues that can be interpreted so broadly as to fulfill the warning of the ancient philosopher Isaiah, who wrote: " Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" It is called inversion of virtue, and is incredibly destructive to any culture that indulges it. One might almost think it was deliberate.

Clearly, this emphasis on kindness as the highest virtue has led to much, if nearly all the division we see in society today. The reinterpretation of what is kind that allows most Western values to be called evil has provided justification for violent disturbances, assaults on innocent people, assassination attempts, lawfare, support for misguided initiatives, much general harm to innocent victims, citizens, institutions, and nearly every positive aspect of society-- all in the name of kindness.

So how does one counter this perversion of virtue? The original true meaning of kindness has been a virtue for many centuries across many cultures and religions, so attacking kindness is not a good idea. Simply telling those on the Left that they have a wrong view is also not likely to be a successful approach. When was the last time someone won an argument with you by saying "you're wrong".

There are a few effective tactics, though. For example, a number of participants at a "gays for Palestine" rally were encouraged to question their beliefs when it was pointed out that Palestinians believe they are morally justified to kill gays, and that Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that supports a large gay population.

One can ask if it is kindness to intervene to stop someone from assaulting another? If the answer is affirmative, one can then follow by asking if it is then right for a policeman to intervene to stop someone from assaulting or killing another.

Another question regards property rights. "Is it kindness to forcibly take from someone to give to another who has less?" If they say yes, you can ask if it would be kindness for you to take something of theirs, like their cellphone, to give to someone who doesn't have one. Moreover, would it be right for them to object? Should grades be averaged so everyone in a class gets the same grade? Isn't that what Socialism does? Was Robin Hood a hero? Why?

If America is built on stolen land, who did we steal it from and who did they steal it from? If the United States were to be destroyed, would the resulting chaos here and across the world be a kindness? It has been said that history is the story of man's inhumanity to man, and vice versa. How would history be different if we weren't around to moderate it?

I think you get the idea. Rather than confronting misguided beliefs directly, the use of strategic questions will lead the holders to confront their own internal inconsistencies, and opens them to consideration of alternatives.

Other useful questions include:"Would it be kindness for someone to do to you or to those you care about what you would do the them?" "Is punishment ever justified?" "What should be done if someone enjoys being unkind to others? Is that response kind?" "What if kindness to one person means you must be unkind to others?" "Would you want to live in a society where everything you made could be taken from you and given to someone else?" "Would you want to live in a society where you were forced to work for someone else's benefit?" "What if everyone reacted with violence to oppose something they didn't like? Would it be kindness to stop them?" "What would be the kindest response?"

When all else fails, there is always the universal question most children discover early in life, often to the dismay and frustration of parents: "Why?"

If we view most of the people on the Left as simply misguided and misinformed, but sincerely wanting to do good, we have a chance to persuade them to a better path. Life is full of tradeoffs, and sometimes the only choices available are bad ones. Yes, there are some on the Left who are actually evil and will never reform. They are not the majority. We will have to deal with them as we encounter them just as we would deal with any manifestation of evil.

With good faith and willingness to teach the value of other virtues, it is possible to heal this great divide that confronts us. We are not perfect, but we have been working for over 250 years to learn and get better. The process is slow and not always in the right direction, but should not be discarded simply because it occasionally makes mistakes. Few other revolutions in history have had the positive effect of that which produced America.

Do we really want to risk the mass slaughters and loss of freedom that nearly all revolutions produce? We have something rare and precious. It is worth our loyalty and protection.

David Robb——Bio and Archives

David Robb is a practicing scientist and CTO of a small firm developing new security technologies for detection of drugs and other contraband.  Dave has published extensively in TheBlueStateConservative, and occasionally in American Thinker.