Variation on a theme is almost always a good thing.
I've resisted the ice bucket challenge mightily. Not because I'm a curmudgeonly old poopy head - OK, not just because I'm a curmudgeonly old poopy head - I care about ALS and I care about the people who have to suffer and die because of it.
I resist because the ice bucket thing has become so popular and so cool and so Cause Celebre, that it's not about the good works any more. It's about participating in a fad. Not that it's always and only a bad thing to go along with the crowd, especially when it's in service of a great benefit to the community. The point is that this ends up detracting from bunches of other great ideas that need our support simply because a marketing department somewhere came up with an idea that's cut thru the clutter and gone viral (the holy grail of Digital Age Marketing), and because it lets us rationalize not doing much of anything else about much of anything else.
And BTW - the ice bucket thing did not originate as an ALS thing.
Today Show
Josh Levin - Slate (who can resist a really good creation myth?)
But more to the point, here's what Will Oremus at Slate Magazine suggests as a possible alternative to spending more on the ice and the water (plus your time) than you do on the contribution itself:
I've resisted the ice bucket challenge mightily. Not because I'm a curmudgeonly old poopy head - OK, not just because I'm a curmudgeonly old poopy head - I care about ALS and I care about the people who have to suffer and die because of it.
I resist because the ice bucket thing has become so popular and so cool and so Cause Celebre, that it's not about the good works any more. It's about participating in a fad. Not that it's always and only a bad thing to go along with the crowd, especially when it's in service of a great benefit to the community. The point is that this ends up detracting from bunches of other great ideas that need our support simply because a marketing department somewhere came up with an idea that's cut thru the clutter and gone viral (the holy grail of Digital Age Marketing), and because it lets us rationalize not doing much of anything else about much of anything else.
And BTW - the ice bucket thing did not originate as an ALS thing.
Today Show
Josh Levin - Slate (who can resist a really good creation myth?)
But more to the point, here's what Will Oremus at Slate Magazine suggests as a possible alternative to spending more on the ice and the water (plus your time) than you do on the contribution itself:
- Do not fetch a bucket, fill it with ice, or dump it on your head.
- Do not film yourself or post anything on social media.
- Just donate the damn money, whether to the ALS Association or to some other charity of your choice. And if it’s an organization you really believe in, feel free to politely encourage your friends and family to do the same.
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