Everybody Loves Justice Until It Costs Something

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Everybody Loves Justice Until It Costs Something

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In a world where silence is profitable and outrage is performative, character still matters. Today I’m asking you a simple question with complicated consequences: Shall you take a stand, or stay seated?Take a Stand or Take a SeatI was watching The New York Times interview with Scott Pelley when the reporter asked him to respond to a statement celebrating his firing from 60 Minutes.The president called him “stiff” and part of a “gang of stupid, crooked people that don’t care about the country.”Pelley’s response is both tactful and visceral. He didn’t seem to care about being fired for his beliefs. He didn’t seem concerned about answering to power. He stood up right and got fired, when so many others might have said nothing, kept their seats, and protected their paychecks.I get it.It’s tough out here.According to Stanford’s 2026 AI Index Report, 90% of companies using AI-assisted applicant evaluations retain candidate scores for up to 330 days. That means one bad assessment, one poorly matched resume, or one automated rejection can effectively lock you out of opportunities for nearly a year. AI adoption is growing faster than ever. Yet brave researchers buck the trends and report inconsistencies and limitations in these systems. But that doesn’t help if you’re caught in that 330-day lockout.So yes, I understand why people say nothing and cling to their jobs.But if an environment demands that you surrender your values to keep your position, it might be worth considering an exit strategy.Quiet quit.Update your résumé.Find another lane.Because an environment with no morals will eventually consume yours.Back to Scott.Accused of being crooked and seditious, he swallows and carefully chooses his words. There’s still more to lose because leadership is being weaponized.I remember a time when, regardless of party, there was at least an expectation that the occupants of the highest offices in the land would demonstrate empathy and respect for all Americans. Those days feel very far away.So hearing a journalist described as a “stiff” who “doesn’t care about the country” because he asked difficult questions- well, let’s just call it disappointing.Watching a news veteran like Scott Pelley visibly choke up when responding to the accusation was moving.In his interview, Pelley reminded viewers that while he never served in uniform, he spent years reporting from war zones.“I’ve been in combat for this country in Afghanistan and Iraq. I’ve spent nights in foxholes. You become a journalist because you love the First Amendment. There is no democracy without journalism.”Scott is someone who stood up and risked his life in pursuit of truth.It reminds me of people throughout history who believed in something enough to sacrifice for it.People who risked financial ruin. People who lost family members. People who gave up comfort, status, and sometimes their lives for truth or some big principle.In an age where everything feels transactional, people like Pelley or Ida B Wells show us that there are things worth fighting for.The current political and cultural climate sharply reveals the difference between true allyship and performative allyship.Sitting back, waiting for things to change, costs women—particularly Black women and women of color.But Vanessa, I’m scared.I get it. Some things are triggering. I understand that. Everyone must have their own standards and beliefs. But don’t expect others to help you when you are the one in the line of fire.For me, I believe in the dignity of the human experience. You see my pen write this experience in a Fire Sword and Sea. In the beginning, Jacquotte is a passionate screw-up, but she finds her calling, rises to her feet, and becomes a captain leading an integrated crew of men and women.I believe laughter is still the best medicine. You see that in A Deal at Dawn when enemies-to-lovers laugh about old times while dealing with the enemy, chronic illness.I believe hard work matters.I believe prayer matters.And I still believe that when you focus, work, and persist, you can move closer to the desires of your heart.But what troubles me is how often public virtue has become performance.In 2020 people in publishing sat at home posting black squares. These posts on Instagram cost them nothing. And when many of their Black and brown colleagues were fired in 22-24, they didn’t post anything.A black square requires no sacrifice. No difficult conversations. No risk. No courage at all.There’s nothing wrong with capitalism. Nothing wrong with protecting your peace and your pockets. Just don’t confuse me by making me think you care. I’d respect you more if you were openly scheming aka JR Ewing of Dallas not that backstabbing Iago from Othello. Please don’t be the deceiving Uriah Heep from David Copperfield—humble while plotting my doom.I don’t need that kind of disappointment and heartache in my life.But this is America.Companies can ...

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