What if Niceness starts to spread?

The comic strip, Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, has been running a story line where an animal/spirit called Ekert has been released upon the world. The Ekert spreads niceness wherever it goes. Niceness is spreading faster than anyone can imagine. The President of the United States asks the question, "How is niceness a scourage?" His aide responds, in today’s strip, “People are starting to practice what they preach, so crime is plummeting and lawsuits aren’t being filed …” The result of the Ekert spreading niceness throughout the world is that millions of lawyers are unemployed, the military has been reduced to a state of meaninglessness and politicians … well, you get the picture.

This comic strip, which is one of my favorites, has gotten me to think as to just what would happen in this old world of ours if all of a sudden Niceness started to spread like wildfire. Would millions of lawyers have to change professions? Would politicians start working together instead of against each other … actually making America a better country? Would the news media have nothing to report since all they presently share are the bad things that are happening in the world? Would jails have to shut down? Would we have to reduce our police force … all because Niceness was breaking out all over the place?

The unemployment would be huge since so much of today’s work force have their jobs because people treat other people badly. As the last panel in today’s strip has the president and his aide sharing the following dialogue: President: “…now there’s a million unemployed lawyers, right?” Aide: “Yes, sir. And they can’t all become fiction writers.” What would people start doing since their old jobs would no longer have meaning and purpose? Maybe new professions would have to be created that would cause people to reach out and assist others in their journey through this life.

So what would happen if the fictional character Ekert was released and we all started practicing Niceness? Why don’t we give it a try and allow it to break forth in our own lives and our own little part of this old world? What do we have to lose?

Quote for today: Kindness makes a person attractive. If you would win the world, melt it, do not hammer it. Alexander Maclaren