I have always been curious about activities that are purportedly for raising awareness about some cause or the other, like walking five kilometers, pouring a bucket of ice-cold water over oneself etc. The online version of it is sending WhatsApp messages or posts on FB.
I have often heard arguments like such awareness campaigns succeed because it alleviates the guilt of not contributing back to the society with a pseudo sense of accomplishment and that the core set of people who contribute and make a difference are the ones that show up day in and day out. I remember a couple of years ago how great a whole lot of people felt marching against corruption.
There is some validity to those arguments. It's great to go for a run and be back home for lunch and feel good about having saved humanity. I don't think one can bring about a change by contributing minimal amount of time and energy. It requires long term commitment.
But I have also come to realize because of the sheer size of the sphere of influence that a connected world offers, even a drop of contribution individually could come to mean something collectively. This article on the ALS breakthrough is a case in point. Surely anything is better than cynicism?
In that spirit here is a link to Back-a-thon. Who knows this post might reach the one person who would ultimately make a difference. Hope is eternal.
I have often heard arguments like such awareness campaigns succeed because it alleviates the guilt of not contributing back to the society with a pseudo sense of accomplishment and that the core set of people who contribute and make a difference are the ones that show up day in and day out. I remember a couple of years ago how great a whole lot of people felt marching against corruption.
There is some validity to those arguments. It's great to go for a run and be back home for lunch and feel good about having saved humanity. I don't think one can bring about a change by contributing minimal amount of time and energy. It requires long term commitment.
But I have also come to realize because of the sheer size of the sphere of influence that a connected world offers, even a drop of contribution individually could come to mean something collectively. This article on the ALS breakthrough is a case in point. Surely anything is better than cynicism?
In that spirit here is a link to Back-a-thon. Who knows this post might reach the one person who would ultimately make a difference. Hope is eternal.
