Last week, as I walked through New York, I encountered over 800 people.
Curious, I observed the individuals around me.
Out of those 800 people, not one fit the typical mold of a movie star in terms of conventional attractiveness. Only a few resembled the images seen on billboards or in commercials. Perhaps 40 had attended prestigious colleges and around 10 had a background in competitive sports. However, they all possessed kindness and wisdom that surpassed the typical TV character, and they were all deeply passionate about something significant.
These individuals fell outside the typical ‘target market’ age bracket for most products. Some used canes, wore glasses, or relied on hearing aids. A few were in wheelchairs, while others could run much faster than I could. Each person was knowledgeable about topics that had never crossed my mind.
Now, if we expand our scope to include a random selection of 800 people from around the world, we begin to understand the true diversity of our planet. Among these 800, less than 300 have ever taken a flight, while half display intelligence above the average. 200 can speak some English, and 50 struggle to make ends meet with just a few dollars a day. A handful are even living in bondage. The majority of them are deeply concerned about the state of the world, with only a small minority having as significant an impact on the climate as we do.
For a long time, mass consumer marketing has propagated status roles and amplified division and class distinctions to fuel consumerism. However, what we see in the media or on resumes does not accurately reflect the diversity and complexity of our world.
We are all unique, and that’s perfectly okay.
