Kmele Foster on the Importance of Positive Role Models
Ayaan Hirsi Ali Podcast | Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Kmele Foster
An excellent conversation with FAIR Advisors Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Kmele Foster. They discuss family, discrimination, and individualism. They talk about the enormous influence of Milton Friedman on Foster’s thinking and political activism—most notably, Friedman’s book, Capitalism and Freedom. They discuss the vital importance of dignity and self-worth as well as the American Experiment and how America gave rise to the global abolitionist movement. They also discuss whether we have forgotten what a positive male role model looks like, and the importance of such role models.
Foster discusses how JFK’s words, “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” along with MLK’s I Have a Dream speech were touchstones for him, and that while MLK’s speech remains very important to him personally, at some point in college he came across Milton Friedman’s book, Capitalism and Freedom—a “transformative experience” for him.
He then goes on to talk about two things Friedman wrote that were transformative:
1) Foster explains, “There’s a section… where Milton talks about two things. One, he talks about that Kennedy speech and says that neither aspect of…. that famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”… that neither aspect is consistent with the ideals of a free man in a free society, that what we ought to be focusing on is what we can do together to... build a system that allows us all to pursue our several aims, and that was really profound.
2) “But Milton also painted a picture for me of a broader conception of human freedom, and made it very clear that throughout most of history, most people have been subjugated… that had never really been explicitly stated to me… those two ideas…would be and continue to be, really important for me…and animate my interests and concerns in the world of political philosophy and even political activism today.”
Regarding dispositional beliefs about being discriminated against or obstructed in the pursuit of one’s passions, Foster says, “I’ve never really had the opportunity to adopt, or at least I’ve been fortunate to be spared being indoctrinated, into that sort of belief. And I used that word advisedly because I see so many people who have this belief that there’s some fundamental obstacle to their ability to succeed in life.”
Foster then goes on to talk about the role of individualism, dignity, and a sense of self-worth in shaping his worldview:
“My advocacy and mentorship work…is really informed by my sense of individualism… part of being an individualist is…a deep appreciation for the fact that dignity is something that one has to cultivate…an appreciation for their own dignity, a respect for it, honoring the fact that their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is on the basis of their humanity and that there is something very important that is worth safeguarding about the fact that you are here now, and you have the distinct opportunity to pursue your own happiness… Having an appreciation for what you are…. a deep, abiding sense of your own value and worth is invaluable… and an appreciation for where you find yourself now…in the United States…in 2022, with all the privileges…that entails…it puts you in a position to really have a sense…that there’s something you ought to be fighting for…. [Also], being accountable to yourself for taking full advantage of the opportunity that’s in front you… If you have that really deep and abiding sense of dignity and self-worth…. [then] it becomes very hard to subjugate all of that…to the racial tribe…”
One of the most powerful parts of the interview is on the American Experiment:
Foster begins by talking of those who describe America’s past as one of slavery, racism and injustice, and our systems as built to oppress people of color. He says, “There is something aggressively ahistorical about that characterization of America. It doesn’t appreciate the dense catalog of inhumanity that humans have visited upon one another over the course of time, and the fact that the American project really is a departure from age-old systems and patterns of abuse, and is part of this rather stark new paradigm where start to regard people as individuals and we start to think carefully about what that ought to mean…what their dignity as a human ought to entitle them to…”
“It was hardly perfect,” Foster admits, “and excluded lots of people… But there’s a really sense that our ability to see those problems, those defects, was owed in large part to the ideas that animated the American experiment, but also the American experiment itself. It gave rise to the global abolitionist movement, that seems really important… Other places might have been the home for that, they might have helped to spur that, but they didn’t, the United States did… If we were able to cultivate a deep appreciation for that, it might engender a better sense of confidence and faith in the project…a greater willingness to do things to preserve it and to continue perfecting it.”
Kmele Foster is a media entrepreneur, commentator, and civil liberties advocate. He is the co-host of The Fifth Column podcast, is co-founder of Freethink, serves on the board of FIRE and is on the board of advisors of FAIR.
