Don't Forget: Praise the Good

By Joseph Kellard


Overall, in the grand scheme of things, I’ve found that it's more important to spend your time supporting the good than condemning the bad. In the long run, it encourages more of the good, and you're more likely to get that from those who are already preaching the correct policies, than with those you're condemning and perhaps trying to persuade to see things more rationally.

That's why I've posted this email I sent to Caroline Baum, who wrote a column for Bloomberg News called "John Galt Plan Might Save U.S. Financial System." Baum hedges at the end of her column, suggesting there is still a place for the government to get involved in the economy--a "backstop"--but it's unclear exactly what she means. I decided to go ahead and praise here nevertheless for her support of capitalism. And I’ve posted this email here to encourage OActivists to spend more time praising the good wherever and whenever they appear.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=avFnuh9oWHVo&refer=home


Hello Caroline Baum,

I wanted to thank you for having the courage to assert the John Galt plan to save the economy. To essentially state that there should be a separation between economy and state takes courage in today's alarmingly statist environment that is seemingly morphing non-stop. The post-Enron anti-freedom regulations are perhaps the most damaging of these interventionist measures.

Please know that there are principled people out here, even if only a small minority, that support you on this plan, and we're doing our best to battle the statists who are doing everything to smear and stop our pro-freedom take on the economy--not to mention our entire Objectivist philosophy.

Please stand by your plan and soldier on.

Joseph Kellard


Joseph Kellard is a journalist and columnist living in New York.

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