Quote of the Day: Jesse Jackson on Daily Inspiration

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to become the kind of person you respect, steadier, kinder, more useful, let this line from Jesse Jackson be the permission you need: “Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up”. It doesn’t ask you to be perfect; it asks you to be purposeful with whatever height you’ve been given.

We all end up “above” someone in some way, more experience, more money, more certainty, more connections. The temptation is to let that vantage point turn into verdicts: They should know better. They should work harder. They brought this on themselves. Jackson’s rule makes judgment expensive. If you’re going to look down, you’re required to turn your gaze into a hand. Otherwise, you’re not assessing reality, you’re feeding superiority.

The hinge is action. “Unless you’re helping him up” turns empathy into a verb and reframes leadership as leverage for others, not proof of your worth. It also protects your inner life: contempt is a quick sugar rush that leaves you smaller. Assistance, even in tiny doses, builds dignity in both directions. Ask yourself: what would “helping up” look like here, one introduction, one clear piece of feedback, one ride, one resource, one sentence of encouragement that’s specific enough to be believed?

Jesse Jackson earned the right to speak this way through decades of civil rights leadership, public advocacy, and coalition-building that challenged the cultural habit of blaming people for the weight of unequal systems.

Today, pick one person you’ve quietly judged and do one concrete lift: send the job link, offer to review the résumé, make the introduction, or simply ask, “What would help most this week?” Practice humanity with your hands, and let that be how you walk into the rest of your day.