Wow...someone challenged my son, Cameron, and he responded as follows...food for thought: Pardon me as I go full-Jesuit here... [Stands on soapbox] So Matthew Krygier nominated me for the ALS challenge, in which I get to pick whether I pour a bucket of cold water over my head or (heaven forbid!) donate money to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, a group dedicated to treating and curing ALS, better known as Lou Gehrigs Disease. Well Internet, youve done it again... a series of viral videos where millions of people take pride in *not* donating to a very good cause. As someone who has seen the effects of ALS, as someone suffering from a different chronic disease thats waiting for a cure, and simply as a human I can say its thoroughly disgusting. Im sure there are plenty of people who dump water over themselves and then proceed to donate, but I see little benefit from the larger implications of this challenge. I proudly donate to many good causes. I pay my dues to public broadcasting (both Big Bird and Terry Gross), Mito Action, and Variety Club. This is in addition to volunteering at Childrens Hospital and writing and puppeteering as a Mito advocate. While I will consider giving in some way to ALS in the future, it will not be because someone challenged me on a desperate whim. [Stands on tip toes, on soapbox] Saint Ignatius wrote, Love consists in a mutual sharing of goods... the lover gives and shares with the beloved what he possesses, or something of that which he has or is able to give; and vice versa, the beloved shares with the lover. If one has knowledge, he shares it with the one who does not possess it; and so also if one has honors, or riches. Thus, one always gives to the other. I proudly give of my knowledge, and honors, and riches to the causes that those gifts can best serve. I challenge anybody and everybody to do the same. Then maybe some real change can be made.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 22:34:12 +0000