One of our worst traits in journalism is that when we have a narrative in our minds, we often plug in anecdotes that confirm it. Thus we managed to portray President Gerald Ford, a first-rate athlete, as a klutz.
Nicholas KristofRead
Wilderness trails constitute a rare space in America marked by economic diversity. Lawyers and construction workers get bitten by the same mosquitoes and sip from the same streams; there are none of the usual signals about socioeconomic status, for most hikers are in shorts and a T-shirt and enveloped by an aroma that would make a skunk queasy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wilderness trails bring people of different economic backgrounds together in a shared experience of nature.
In this quote, Nicholas Kristof highlights how wilderness trails create a unique environment where social and economic distinctions fade away. In the wild, individuals from diverse professions and backgrounds share the same experiences, facing the same challenges and enjoying the same beauty of nature, thus emphasizing the unifying power of the outdoors beyond societal labels and statuses.
Themes
WildernessNatureEconomic DiversityHikingShared Experience
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during a speech at a nature conservation event to highlight the importance of preserving wilderness areas.
More from Nicholas Kristof
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Worrying about bills, food, or other problems leaves less capacity to think ahead or to exert self-discipline. So, poverty imposes a mental tax.
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Most moms and dads, they want to be good moms and dads. But it's an incredibly hard job when you are stressed out, when you are poor, when your life is in chaos. And giving them some of the tools to be better parents, to whittle away at that parenting gap, gives those kids a much better starting point in life.
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Since the end of the 1970s, something has gone profoundly wrong in America. Inequality has soared. Educational progress slowed. Incarceration rates quintupled. Family breakdown accelerated. Median household income stagnated.
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The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might be able to stop these things from continuing.
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