First a little foreshadowing. This Friday I’ll hike into North Canaan to report on kindness there; next week should be the start of those types of posts on here.
The tale of two Matts is one I’ve told several times during the journey, and it has a bearing on the happiness over safety movement. Safety and security are tightly linked concepts. People in this country are driven to seek financial security; this sets the table for the differences between Utah Matt and Kansas Matt.
Both Matts had unpleasant experiences with corporate America. When we met Utah Matt he recently was laid off. With the help of a few beers he expressed his extreme displeasure with corporate America. I suggested he become a proprietor, or work for one. His position suddenly switched 180 degrees. He accused me of being naive. In his view people “need” (not want or should) to work for corporations for decent wages, health care and pensions. He viewed proprietors in his line of work (construction) as temporary businesses that eventually will be gobbled up by a corporation anyways.
Kansas Matt returned from the city life to his roots in Syracuse, Kansas. In order to make a living he pursued an entrepreneurial, inspiring path towards diversified income streams. He raised buffalo with his father; he brewed his own beer; he was a hunting guide; he was a photographer. He has found a way to make these diverse income streams come together.
Kansas Matt bought a building in downtown Syracuse, Kansas on the cheap. He renovated the second floor to become an apartment for housing his hunting clientele and photo gallery. He was in the process of renovating the first floor into a restaurant that would feature his buffalo and brew.
Utah Matt sacrifices happiness for the pursuit of security; Kansas Matt sacrifices security for the pursuit of happiness. When I share this story I get two types of reactions. Most people support Kansas Matt’s endeavors more. Some identify Kansas Matt as special and allege that we can’t be all like that.
Perhaps that is so, but we have a problem in that fewer people can be like Kansas Matt because of a system that favors the protection of corporations over proprietors, and convinces people we need to secure corporations as we in turn need their security. Kansas Matt is special not because he is a small scale entrepreneur with ideas. Believe it or not our economy used to feature and nurture a higher percentage of Kansas Matts, without the expectation that they become a temporary first step towards a public stockholding corporation. Kansas Matt is special because he dares to autonomously buck the system we’ve created that promotes expectations of security at the expense of autonomy and happiness.
Yet why should I dwell on this in a Kindness Blog? In addition to the direct link I’ve made in the past between happiness and kindness there is an indirect link at play here. We walked into many “Mom and Pops” and corporate chain stores across the country. The clerks at both types of stores were just as friendly towards us. However, the “clerk” at a Mom and Pop was not part of a management hierarchy and often initiated some kind act, like treating us to a sandwich. Extending such kindness made the proprietor happy, but would not help the bottom line of an anonymous stockholding corporation seeking accountability for charitable acts.
