The desire to be liked is a basic human goal, but its achievement doesn’t justify falsification, as in the presentation of fabricated similarities. On the other hand, working strategically to be liked, perhaps by expending effort to uncover and communicate genuine parallels with others, doesn’t strike me as objectionable at all. In fact, I’d consider it commendable in many situations as a way to prompt harmonious interactions. Commendable or not, such a goal isn’t easy to achieve because, as a rule, we tend to pay attention to differences rather than similarities.
