Michelle Obama on going high

(Last of four parts)

In the US Democratic National Convention in 2016, Michelle Obama talked about the importance of acting with decency and ethics, even amid fake news, misogyny and racism.

“When they go low,” she famously said, “we go high.” She ended her speech by rallying the voters to make the right choice: “So let’s get to work.”

But after the applause, people remembered the slogan, but not the ending. “More than ninety million eligible voters stayed home on Election Day in 2016,” says Obama in her book “The Light We Carry.”

“We lived with those results for four years. We are living with them still,” she adds.

My 20-year-old student G wants to make a difference. He rails about corruption and injustice, and plans to run for president of the Philippines in the future. He enthusiastically clicks “yes” to every environment and gender campaign.

But when he flunks still another quiz, I confront him. He says sheepishly, “I find it hard to read chapters.” Every day, he spends 30 minutes reading book summaries, two hours forwarding political news and three hours gaming.

“How can you change the world if you cannot change yourself?” I ask G in sorrow, “Going high is something you do rather than merely feel,” says Obama. “The notion of going high shouldn’t raise any questions about whether we are obligated to fight for more fairness, decency and justice in this world; rather, it’s about how we fight, how we go about trying to solve the problems we encounter, and how we sustain ourselves long enough to be effective rather than burn out.”

“Complacency these days often wears the mask of convenience,” she continues. “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.”

My students ask: “How can we live in the same house with our elders if we quarrel over politics? They are so close-minded that it’s impossible to talk to them.”

Continue conversing with each other, I advise, and look at their points of view also. But if they don’t listen, choose your battles. Your father may be recalcitrant, but your mother might be more open. Regulate your feelings, exercise patience and take the high road.

“My power didn’t reside in my hurt and rage,” says Obama, “but in whatever I could manage to do with [them] … [Going high] usually involves taking a pause before I react. It is a form of self-control, a line laid between our best and worst impulses. Going high is about resisting the temptation to participate in shallow fury and corrosive contempt and instead figuring out how to respond with a clear voice to whatever is shallow and corrosive around you … Emotions are not plans. They don’t solve problems or right any wrongs. You can feel them … but be careful about letting them guide you.”

In 2020, American voters went high, and finally got to work. That historic election had the highest voter turnout of the 21st century in the United States, with 66.8 percent of eligible citizens ensuring their voices were heard.

“Going high is work—often hard, often tedious, often inconvenient and often bruising,” says Obama. “Disregard the haters and the doubters … Keep working when others around you may have grown tired or cynical and given up … Stay agile and adapt to change as it comes. And all of that becomes more possible when you are ready and practiced with a full range of tools. Going high is not just about what happens on a single day or month or inside one election cycle. It happens over the course of a lifetime, the course of a generation.”

Jesus Christ, of course, always went high, even unto His death on the Cross. May we joyfully celebrate His birth! Have a blessed Christmas.

Get “The Light We Carry” by Michelle Obama at National Bookstore (nationalbookstore.com).

Queena N. Lee-Chua is with the board of directors of Ateneo’s Family Business Center. Get her book “All in the Family Business” at Lazada or Shopee, or the ebook at Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks. Contact the author at [email protected].