The high roads and low roads to success

PUBLISHED: May 1, 2026 | www.baltimoresun.com

Great wealth or fame can come by at least two very different paths. The first and most admirable is built on skill, foresight, ambition and unwearied labor. It is the path exemplified by Booker T. Washington, Andrew Carnegie, George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglass and John D. Rockefeller, and equally by extraordinary women such as Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie and Maya Angelou. Their achievements did more than elevate their own lives; they advanced society itself. The spirit of this path is captured in Horace Greeley’s call to “Go West, young man,” and in the rags-to-riches stories of Horatio Alger Jr. a spirit that applies just as powerfully to women whose stories were too often left untold.

These success stories inspire discipline, aspiration, and responsibility. They reflect a powerful alignment between private virtue and the public good.

The digital age has created a remarkable inflection point in the history of opportunity. Today, anyone with discipline can access the world’s greatest ideas, studying the works of Homer, William Shakespeare, John Milton and Charles Dickens, while also learning from the voices of Jane Austen and Toni Morrison. In many ways, the internet offers a tuition-free Ivy League education. But access alone is not enough. As Thomas Edison reminded us, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” And as Michelangelo observed centuries earlier, mastery is born of relentless effort.

Yet it is a troubling commentary on our times that the low roads to fame and success often attract more attention than the high roads. These paths are visible everywhere: those who profit from vice, vulgarity, exploitation or the degradation of others. Some build notoriety by feeding our basest instincts rather than elevating our highest ideals. Others, in positions of power, have abused trust in pursuit of personal gratification.

This is not merely a cultural concern; it is a moral one. The high road produces role models, men and women who inspire discipline, courage, sacrifice and wisdom. The low road, by contrast, too often rewards spectacle over substance and indulgence over integrity. When society celebrates the latter, it risks normalizing behavior that diminishes us all.

How do we correct this imbalance?

We begin by reassessing what and whom we choose to honor. Parents, teachers, thinkers and philosophers form the foundation of civilization. Women and men alike, often working without recognition, have shaped minds, preserved truth and carried forward the moral inheritance of society. Yet too often, their contributions are undervalued relative to entertainers or athletes. This is not an argument against excellence in sports or performance but a call to restore balance in what we esteem.

Consider the enduring impact of Socrates, who chose death over silence in defense of truth. Reflect on Martin Luther, whose Ninety-five Theses reshaped religious and intellectual life. Think of Nicolaus Copernicus, who challenged the very understanding of our place in the universe. And alongside them, remember Harriet Tubman, whose courage delivered others to freedom, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, whose advocacy expanded the promise of equality.

Or consider the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Their work established a system of governance grounded in the rule of law and the separation of powers, creating the conditions for both liberty and prosperity. Without that framework, the United States might have fractured into conflict, succumbed to authoritarianism or lost the freedoms we now take for granted. And over time, women leaders, reformers and thinkers have helped expand and perfect that framework, ensuring it serves all citizens more fully.

The marketplace, powerful as it is, does not always measure true societal value. It rewards what is popular, not always what is good. But we are not bound by the marketplace in how we assign respect and admiration.

We can choose to elevate those whose lives reflect integrity, discipline and purpose, women and men alike. We can honor those we would trust to shape the next generation. And we can remind ourselves and our children that success without character is hollow.

Restoring that moral clarity requires no legislation and no cost. It requires only intention: to recognize, celebrate and emulate the high road.

That choice, ultimately, is ours.

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.

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