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Sure, yes, amen to all of it. But now tell me how.
Are we still supposed to be going high? Okay, what about now? My answer is yes. Still yes. We need to keep trying to go high. We must commit and recommit ourselves to the idea. Operating with integrity matters. It will matter forever. It is a tool.
I can see how some think that reason leaves no room for rage. I understand the perception that going high means that you somehow remove yourself and remain unbothered by all that might otherwise gall and provoke you. But it’s not that at all.
But where was my actual power? I knew that it didn’t reside in my hurt and rage, at least as they existed in raw or unfiltered forms. My power lay in whatever I could manage to do with that hurt and rage, where I could take it, what sort of destination I chose for it. It hinged on whether or not I could elevate those rawer feelings into something that would become harder for others to write off, which was a clear message, a call to action, and a result I was willing to work for.
When people ask me about going high, I explain that for me, it’s about doing what it takes to make your work count and your voice heard, despite the despites.
what you put out for others—whether it’s hope or hatred—will only create more of the same.
The late civil rights leader John Lewis tried to remind us of this. “Freedom is not a state; it is an act,” he once wrote. “It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest.”
Complacency these days often wears the mask of convenience: We might click on “like” or hit a repost button and then applaud ourselves for being active, or regard ourselves as an activist, after three seconds of effort. We’ve become adept at making noise and congratulating one another for it, but sometimes we forget to do the work. With a three-second investment, you may be creating an impression, but you are not creating change.
