Stars
& Stripes
Spouse
Calls
Douse
of reality
By Terri Barnes
Published: August 29, 2014
Published: August 29, 2014
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There’s a social media
deluge going on. Men, women and children, sometimes entire crowds of people at
once, are dumping buckets of ice water on themselves or each other. This
wetting-down has a purpose, mostly raising funds toward research into treatment
of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or other forms of support for those who
have the disease.
I talked to someone
this week who had not heard about the “ice bucket challenge.” Explaining it to
him made me realize how crazy it sounds: A person takes video of himself or
herself getting doused with several gallons of icy water and posts it on social
media and then challenges several friends, by name, to either donate $100 to
the ALS Association or dump a bucket of cold water on their own heads. Judging
by the videos I’ve seen, most people do both: give money and receive a cold
shower.
It’s been good, clean
— and bracing — fun, a diversion during a long, hot summer. Best of all, it’s
for a worthy cause, refreshingly different from other social media trends. (Anyone
remember planking or the “Harlem Shake”?)
The ALS Association
reported Wednesday that donations have exceeded $94 million in the first few
weeks of August. During the same period last year, donations were around $2
million, the story said. Some other organizations might have benefited in
smaller amounts, since some ice bucket challengers have asked friends to give
to other charities as well.
Behold the power of
social media and peer pressure. All this makes me wonder why it takes a bucket
of ice water to call attention to one of the serious ills of the world. We
certainly knew about ALS — also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease — before now.
To people in other
cultures, it may appear a little silly. Dana, a military daughter currently
working in Africa, posted a picture on her Facebook page of children carrying
buckets of water on their heads with the caption: “Ice bucket challenge? You
know how far I had to walk for this?”
In drought-stricken
California, some people accepted the challenge by dumping dirt on their heads
to conserve water, though presumably they had to use water to wash it off. I’m
all for fun with a purpose, but I wish it didn’t take such extreme measures to
get our national attention. I wish it didn’t take buckets of cold water poured
over our heads to get us to pay attention to what’s going on in the world.
Some military family
members suggested more issues that could use more attention, namely:
“Our servicemembers and their families,” said Kathleen, a
military mom as well as wife. “So many tired souls, just flat worn out.
Sometimes I worry that the civilian community as a whole thinks military
families all come with a suit of armor. That somehow military families are made
of thicker skin than the rest of society.”
Several other military
and family members nominated diseases like Type 1 diabetes, brain cancer and
childhood cancers for more public attention and private donations. Another
suggested donations to March of Dimes to support research into birth defects
and premature birth.
Even without ice
water, there’s been no shortage of news stories to make our collective blood
run cold: the beheading of American journalist James Foley by Islamic State
militants and the potential for American military action there; racial unrest
in Ferguson, Mo.; the ebola virus spreading across Africa; Russian tanks
rolling into the Ukraine, and continued fighting in Israel.
Perhaps people feel
powerless in the face of these events and diseases, and a bucket of cold water
and a donation of cold hard cash is a tangible way to reach out and touch the
world. It’s one good step that deserves another, and another.
Here’s my challenge: Donate to a favorite
charity or charities. Better yet, volunteer and give of yourself and your time.
Stay informed on issues that matter. Connect with your community. Hold elected
representatives accountable. Vote. Act. Give. Now. Don’t wait for the bucket of
ice water. www.kathleenmrodgers.com
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