Alison Peck

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Day 204: Finding Your Voice, on Substack

For years, I really didn’t want to speak out.

When did politics become so divisive? It wasn’t like this when I was a kid. In law school, we debated. Sure, it could be sensitive, but it wasn’t bloodsport. Way back then, when I decided I wanted to be a legal scholar, I never imagined how things would be now. And I didn’t anticipate working in immigration, one of the most divisive subjects of all.

As I research the life of State Department official Wilbur J. Carr, though, I can’t help contemplating the cost of not speaking up. We may not always get it right — we may find ourselves contributing to the negativity; we may get “cancelled” and suffer personal or professional consequences. We may divert precious energy away from our personal missions for helping others.

Those are the costs of speaking, and they’re easily calculated. What are the costs of not speaking? Have we as carefully calculated those?

This week on How We Got Here, on Substack.

https://alisonpeck.substack.com/p/finding-your-voice