I agree very much! I have almost always found that sincere kindness has a profound effect on people. I believe we are social animals by nature, and as such the default position of social interaction is to help and be friendly to each other, but that through the oft difficult navigation of life, we develop self-defense mechanisms which short-circuit our social interactions. Some folks pride themselves on being an Ass Hole, for example, because "Ass Holes get things done; nice guys finish last; etc." I don't view that as strength though, like many people seem to do. It just seems to be an easy way to dismiss the other for the sake of self, and in a way that causes disconnection and resentment. When someone is kind when they don't have to be, most people seem to respect it...but there has to be that obvious strength attached to it or they just think you're nice because you're weak and need to cover up for it...in my personal experiences anyway.
As usual these days I don't feel like I'm very organized in my thinking here so I'll just finish it up with this: Kindness is an approach that is underappreciated in many aspects of our modern world...and thank you for the opportunity to consider it more deeply.
Take care,
Matthew