Your pledge amounts to promising not to violate the natural rights of others, i.e., to refrain from committing unjust acts. But there seems to be more to respect than merely being just, such as showing regard for the feelings of others, as by being courteous, polite, civil, kind, and considerate, and by avoiding rudeness and insults. I've noticed that many libertarians seem to treat others badly. That gives our ideological opponents grounds to dismiss libertarians as egotistical, arrogant jerks. Would you consider adding more to your pledge?
I see your point, John, but it seems like you might be missing the intent of the post and the pledge. The post is to recruit creatives and innovators to work on liberatory projects. The pledge is central to our organization and predates me by a decade or more. While I am sympathetic to a more pedantic interpretation of the term "respect," the point of the pledge is not to unpack the ultimate nature of respect but rather to establish a kind of moral/social baseline to mark it and market it. In short, adding more to the commitment is theoretically possible, but practically, it is less relevant to the mission. I say this while agreeing with you about the tendency of many libertarians. (I could write volumes.) And there might be opportunities for project leads to build around the core principle. Still, it's not clear what adding material about kindness, politeness, etc. will do for our effort to articulate this as moral baseline, not to mention support projects that allow people to collaborate outside the apparatus of coercion.
Your pledge amounts to promising not to violate the natural rights of others, i.e., to refrain from committing unjust acts. But there seems to be more to respect than merely being just, such as showing regard for the feelings of others, as by being courteous, polite, civil, kind, and considerate, and by avoiding rudeness and insults. I've noticed that many libertarians seem to treat others badly. That gives our ideological opponents grounds to dismiss libertarians as egotistical, arrogant jerks. Would you consider adding more to your pledge?
I see your point, John, but it seems like you might be missing the intent of the post and the pledge. The post is to recruit creatives and innovators to work on liberatory projects. The pledge is central to our organization and predates me by a decade or more. While I am sympathetic to a more pedantic interpretation of the term "respect," the point of the pledge is not to unpack the ultimate nature of respect but rather to establish a kind of moral/social baseline to mark it and market it. In short, adding more to the commitment is theoretically possible, but practically, it is less relevant to the mission. I say this while agreeing with you about the tendency of many libertarians. (I could write volumes.) And there might be opportunities for project leads to build around the core principle. Still, it's not clear what adding material about kindness, politeness, etc. will do for our effort to articulate this as moral baseline, not to mention support projects that allow people to collaborate outside the apparatus of coercion.