Yesterday’s heroes:
Explorers, envelope pushers, record breakers, mind blowers…
They represented many of man’s greatest ideals. Integrity, honor, resourcefulness, respect, curiosity…
We believed in such things. We cared about such things.
Today’s heroes:
Millionaires, billionaires, corporations, celebrities, sell outs…
People who are more concerned with their status and their bank accounts than whatever it was that allowed them to gain what they got.
Yes, there are exceptions. They deserve to be seen. They deserve to be heard.
We deserve better than the status quo.
We deserve better than politicians who sell themselves to the highest bidder, regardless of the evils that bidder represents.
We deserve better than a media that cares more about ratings & spin and sponsors and the next election cycle than the truth.
We deserve better than corporations that sabotage each other and impede progress & growth to simply make their stockholders happy.
We deserve people with integrity that we can trust. We deserve companies racing into the future with advancements that will benefit all and not just the elite. These kinds of people & companies deserve the headlines every day.
Not some celebrity having a baby. Not some singer releasing a remix. Not some deranged killer. Not another unfaithful, outrageous, drug addicted, alcoholic, or corrupt politician.
Where are the heroes? Where are the people with integrity? Where are the people we can trust? Where are the people we can believe in?
Yes, they do exist, but we rarely see them because the press believes we would rather hear about celebrities acting badly than “the crazy ones” trying to change the world.
No wonder people are cynical. We are bombarded with the worst of humanity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Sickness, greed, killing, war. A corporate agenda.
The fact that the McRib is ever back isn’t news. We should be appalled that it is.
The fact we are striving for Mars and the stars is news. The fact that some envelope-pushing companies could use your support is news.
We deserve organizations striving for peace and harmony, not trying to perpetuate wars for the military complex that profits from them. Yes, war is a business and business is good.
But not for us.
We owe it to ourselves to find better heroes than those who simply use our attention for profit rather than the betterment of humanity.
We deserve heroes that don’t need to highlight their accomplishments every time they make a media appearance for us to believe in them.
We deserve heroes that seek to inspire more heroes and not just inspire people to follow them.
We deserve better. We can do better.
Not tomorrow. Today.
“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” — TBWAChiatDay
Related:
- We can do better
- We are surrounded
- Marketing and media manipulation
- Integrity
- A tough pill to swallow
- Clickbait can wait
- Authentic people don’t have to make a show of their success or value to appear successful
