An immigrant from Mexico whose father survived the Holocaust, Daniel Lubetzky has a deep appreciation for the American political system. But now, he’s worried about its future.
Lubetzky, founder of Kind LLC, told Fox News host Neil Cavuto Tuesday that camaraderie and compromise are “essential” to the success of the country.
“I came from Mexico; I emigrated in 1984,” Lubetzky said. “My father was in the concentration camp in Dachau. So having that background, I’m very, very sensitive to the polarization and division that can actually hurt our nation. I’ve never seen the divisions that I see now.”
“I remember when I arrived in America, how proud I was of the system where people could disagree but still have a coffee together and care about each other and work together,” he continued. “And I think it’s essential for our nation to fulfill its maximum potential that we work on that.”
The CEO went on to explain to Cavuto that kindness is not a weakness, as some people might suggest. Instead, the act of being kind, Lubetzky said, requires “an enormous amount of strength.”
“It takes enormous amounts of strength to listen to the side that you disagree with and still respect them and assume positive intent,” he said. “I think in the last several years, we’ve lost that ability and we need to regain that.”
Lubetzky’s comments are in direct contradiction to the actions of many on the left who are now demanding lists of all those who have in any way supported President Donald Trump. Progressive Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, for example, said earlier in November those asking questions about potential instances of voter fraud “should never serve in office, join a corporate board, find a faculty position, or be accepted into polite society.”
And during a separate conversation about cancel culture, Sunny Hostin, a co-host of “The View,” celebrated the phenomenon, saying she believes it should be re-named “consequence culture” because those guilty of what she perceives to be “bad behavior” should be shunned from society.
None of Hostin’s co-hosts — including guest co-host Bari Weiss — agreed with her.
Then during a discussion this week about blacklisting Trump supporters, an effort supported by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and others, Hostin said she thinks the president’s confidants should be punished for their sins.
“I think those people in [Trump’s] administration that not only drafted some of those policies but were complicit in some of those policies shouldn’t be forgotten,” she said this week.
Hostin went on to name several people in the White House administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, adding: “I don’t think those people should be able to profit from their experience within the Trump administration. I don’t think they should be forgotten. I don’t think we should look the other way. I think we need to remember because if you don’t remember things then past becomes prologue. I do think people need to be held accountable for their actions and, um, I don’t think it’s reminiscent of McCarthyism at all.”
Anything else?
Lubetzky, for his part, founded Kind LLC in 2003 with the mission of spreading kindness and promoting social responsibility. According to JTA, it was his father’s Holocaust stories that inspired his passions:
For instance, as a child in the Dachau concentration camp, Lubetzky’s father was given a rotten potato by a Nazi guard who would’ve been punished if he had been seen helping a Jew. Lubetzky’s father credits the potato — and the guard’s actions — with helping him survive.
Drawing on the anecdote, Kind Snacks donates $10,000 each month to a social cause that is nominated and voted on by customers online. Employees also carry “kindawesome” cards that they give to strangers in public for spontaneous acts of kindness. Each card comes with a code through which the recipient can claim a few free Kind bars and more kindawesome cards to pay it forward to others.
At the core of Lubetzky’s business model is authenticity.
“If [companies] can find something that they can really authentically do to make this a better world, why not?” he asked. “But you have to really have a huge asterisk there — it has to be authentic.”