WARNING:The life chances of any individual are significantly determined and affected by his or her social standing. Therefore, the main message of this video ought not be intended to make the viewer feel that anything is impossible or unattainable. Certainly, every human being is filled with tremendous potential and abilities, yet too often they go unrealized because of our failure to break free from the social conditions designed to perpetuate avenues of personal failure rather than avenues for actualization and transformation. Also, instead of focusing on narratives of fame, wealth, "just rewards" and getting ahead, we would be better served focusing on narratives of meaning, based on love, compassion, justice, and human freedom.

Maynor Gonzalez

"Sociologists have found that almost every aspect of our lives is linked to our status in the social hierarchy: our scores on IQ tests, our educational achievements, the size of our families, our standards of nutrition, the chances that we will be arrested or imprisoned or divorced or committed to a mental hospital, our tastes in literature and art, our political opinions, the diseases we suffer, our life expectancy, even the probability of our keeping the lights on during sexual intercourse.

What this means is that people within a particular stratum share similar life chances, or probabilities of benefiting or suffering from the opportunities or disadvantages their society offers. "

Ian Robertson (less info)