Oh, dear. Here goes. Dont hate. Just consider. Eventually, someones going to break with political correctness and sight the now profoundly overplayed trend of the ice bucket challenge for what is truly is: whimsical philanthropy fueled by a sophomoric-level narcissism, a perfect blend for the present American mindset. As serious and mysterious a disease as ALS is, any of o the leading manifestations of structural violence on this planet: poverty, economic inequality, war, and the contamination of our planet strike an exponentially higher number of people than this disease, and whoever started the ice bucket challenge and raised the $30+ million for ALS, kudos to you for you have done an extraordinary thing in getting people to have fun while raising awareness for a crippling and oft neglected disease. BUT... For some around the world to see (or hear of) us drenching ourselves with ice water around the world, they are gobsmacked at the folly. Imagine, with the way we feel about the bankster/Wall Street crowd these days, if they organized the trend of dumping a cooler filled with Starbucks iced coffee (try to guess what the cost of about 30 Venti iced coffees would be on $2000 designer suits. This was to drive home the point that their clients and cronies who might be stricken by a horrible neurological disorder got the attention, treatment and research their syndrome deserved. Howd you feel about that? So now, weve all had a good run, lots of dares, lots of laughs, lots of tears, lots of vids of people cringing at the temporary assault to the senses of a bucket of ice water and ample proof that viral videos can make a difference in the lives of our own loved ones, might we take it up a notch? Several notches, actually. Might we start considering the larger picture. It is truly a sad thing that there are only oblique clues to what might cause ALS, causing those who suffer and their loved ones to live in that limbo of what if they find a cure. Theres a cure for most of the untimely death on this planet. Its the end of structural violence: poverty, economic inequality, war (religious and political) and the slow but consistent environmental destruction of our planet. Sometimes, the cure is as simple as a bucket of water, ice optional but likely still very appreciated. But more often, the cures are more complex, but not discovered in a research laboratory. They are discovered in the search of our own hearts and emerge as a conviction and truth that we as a species, as stewards of this planet (so we believe), have the power and the love to change what we heretofore have simply shrugged off as the way it is or human nature. Its neither. Time to wake up.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 14:39:11 +0000
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