HOW TO BE A MENSCH
I had a friend named Jan Naftulin who died last year around the same time as my father passed at the of September 2025.
Jan was Jewish and also a strong Christian. I still miss him.
Jan was a mensch.
That’s a Yiddish word I have always liked.
Literally it means a person, but when you call someone a mensch you mean something more than that.
You mean they are a person of character, someone decent and trustworthy.
I have been thinking about this lately because I have written a lot about freedom, sovereignty and decentralization.
Those things matter enormously to me. I don’t want someone else deciding what I am allowed to say or believe. I don’t want a government, corporation, social network or anyone else deciding the truth for me.
But freedom doesn’t tell me what kind of person I SHOULD be.
I can have complete freedom to speak and still lie.
I can be uncensored and still be cruel. I can be independent and still treat people unfairly finally I can be completely sovereign and still be an asshole.
Maybe that’s where character comes in.
Tell the truth because it is the truth, not because someone will punish you if you don’t.
Keep your word when you could easily get away with breaking it. Try to be fair to someone you disagree with. Admit when you are wrong. Don’t confuse having the freedom to do something with having a good reason to do it.
None of that requires a central authority.
It requires me to decide what kind of person I want to be.
Jan wasn’t perfect, of course. Nobody is. But when I think of him, mensch still seems like the right word.
Maybe we could use a few more of them.
Be a mensch.
Akamaister
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2026-10-05 07:01:09 UTC
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2026-10-05 07:01:09 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "HOW TO BE A MENSCH\n\nI had a friend named Jan Naftulin who died last year around the same time as my father passed at the of September 2025. \n\nJan was Jewish and also a strong Christian. I still miss him.\n\nJan was a mensch.\n\nThat’s a Yiddish word I have always liked. \n\nLiterally it means a person, but when you call someone a mensch you mean something more than that. \n\nYou mean they are a person of character, someone decent and trustworthy.\n\nI have been thinking about this lately because I have written a lot about freedom, sovereignty and decentralization.\n\nThose things matter enormously to me. I don’t want someone else deciding what I am allowed to say or believe. I don’t want a government, corporation, social network or anyone else deciding the truth for me.\n\nBut freedom doesn’t tell me what kind of person I SHOULD be.\n\nI can have complete freedom to speak and still lie. \n\nI can be uncensored and still be cruel. I can be independent and still treat people unfairly finally I can be completely sovereign and still be an asshole.\n\nMaybe that’s where character comes in.\n\nTell the truth because it is the truth, not because someone will punish you if you don’t. \n\nKeep your word when you could easily get away with breaking it. Try to be fair to someone you disagree with. Admit when you are wrong. Don’t confuse having the freedom to do something with having a good reason to do it.\n\nNone of that requires a central authority.\n\nIt requires me to decide what kind of person I want to be.\n\nJan wasn’t perfect, of course. Nobody is. But when I think of him, mensch still seems like the right word.\n\nMaybe we could use a few more of them.\n\nBe a mensch.\n\n",
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