The way you raise the profile of an issue is by making the issue

The words of Linda Sarsour—“The way you raise the profile of an issue is by making the issue cool and relevant in pop culture”—speak with the fire of understanding born from struggle and experience. Beneath their modern phrasing lies a truth as old as human storytelling: that ideas gain power when they capture the hearts of the people, not merely their minds. Sarsour reminds us that to awaken a sleeping world, one must not only speak of justice in solemn tones, but also weave it into the songs, the stories, the images, and the rhythms that shape everyday life. For it is not enough for truth to exist—it must resonate, it must live within the culture of the age.

In the ancient world, the wise knew that the most enduring messages were carried not by scholars in scrolls, but by bards, poets, and dramatists. The Greek playwrights, through their tragedies, shaped their people’s understanding of honor, fate, and mercy. The poets of Arabia, before the written word ruled, carried their nations’ conscience in verse. Even the prophets of old clothed their teachings in parables and stories, knowing that the soul does not remember commandments as easily as it remembers beauty. In this way, Sarsour’s insight continues the tradition of the ancients: that to raise an issue is to translate it into culture, to speak it in the language of the people’s passions.

The origin of this quote comes from Sarsour’s own work as an activist and organizer, striving to bring attention to the struggles of marginalized communities. She understood that in an age dominated by media and celebrity, the battle for justice is also a battle for visibility. The message must not remain confined to political speeches or academic circles—it must reach the street, the song, the stage, and the screen. To make an issue “cool,” as she says, is not to trivialize it, but to humanize it—to make it part of the living pulse of society, something people feel proud to embrace rather than afraid to discuss. In this, she captures the art of the messenger: to bridge the sacred and the familiar, the eternal and the immediate.

Consider, for instance, the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The cause of equality was not spread by politics alone—it was carried in the voice of music. Songs like “A Change Is Gonna Come” and “We Shall Overcome” became anthems of the soul. They made justice cool, not because they were fashionable, but because they were irresistible—because they spoke to the heart more powerfully than any manifesto could. Or think of Bob Dylan, whose melodies carried protest into the mainstream, or Muhammad Ali, who turned defiance into poetry, transforming his fight for dignity into cultural fire. Each of these figures understood, as Sarsour does, that culture is the battlefield where ideas become movements.

There is wisdom in this for all who seek to create change. Many believe that truth alone is enough to move people—but truth without artistry is often ignored. To change the world, one must learn to speak in symbols, to shape messages that inspire rather than instruct. The ancient Egyptians carved their wisdom in images; the Renaissance masters painted theology into beauty. So too must the modern reformer learn to turn ideas into images, slogans, songs, and stories. The cause that captures imagination becomes unstoppable, for once the people sing it, it becomes part of who they are.

And yet, Sarsour’s insight also carries a challenge: to wield pop culture with integrity. For popularity is a double-edged sword—what is made “cool” can be made shallow, and what is made “relevant” can lose its soul. Thus, the wise must ensure that the flame of the cause burns brighter than the glamour that surrounds it. To make an issue cool is not to make it a trend, but to infuse it with meaning so profound that it becomes timeless. The goal is not attention, but transformation; not fame, but awakening.

So, my child, take this lesson to heart: if you wish to raise the profile of truth, do not stand apart from the world—enter it. Speak in its music, walk in its language, and breathe in its art. Let your cause not hide in dusty halls of intellect, but live upon the stage, the screen, the canvas, and the heart. Do not disdain popular culture—redeem it. Fill it with wisdom, with courage, with compassion. For as Sarsour teaches, it is through the shared language of humanity that justice finds its wings.

Thus, remember the wisdom of Linda Sarsour: “The way you raise the profile of an issue is by making the issue cool and relevant in pop culture.” To change the world, one must not shout from afar, but sing among the people. Make goodness radiant. Make truth irresistible. For when justice becomes part of the culture, it ceases to be a movement—it becomes a way of life, and in that transformation, the future itself begins to turn toward the light.