Posted by
Always Right on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 2:07:11 PM
It's probably associated with the election seasons, but the "fad" causes tend to show up in full force in the fall. Locally, there's a multitude of causes that the town will support. There's the Humane Society, the local food kitchen, etc. Then, you see the big-box fad charities or "awareness" groups that pop up. It almost seems like the popular thing to do to give money to some random charity. There seems to be always 3 big ones at a time. Darfur, AIDS and Breast Cancer are the big ones this year.
Okay, so, every single year all the celebrities take a break from their drugs, sex and busy marriage schedule to do a concert or something for the poor AIDS victims of Africa. I'm all for helping people, don't get me wrong, but not in the name of fashion. When George Cloony's face shows up somberly on the TV talking about the world concert to benefit AIDS victims it almost seems like a joke. If you watch really closely, once you see that first celebrity support a cause the rest of them quickly announce their plans to fall in line behind him.
Breast Cancer Awareness. Wow, I really get a kick out of "awareness" groups, months and bracelets. It just screams, "We don't really want to do anything, but we would like for you to be aware that this exists..." Of course we know it exists. Breasts exist. Cancer exists. Therefore...
Besides, most of us have known a friend or family member that has struggled with or lost her life to breast cancer. There's no need for awareness...but because of awareness's popularity I can now buy a Pink Ribbon Bagel, a pink phone or any amount of pink jewelry to support breast cancer research. Now, supporting the right group is awesome, and you need to do research to figure out where your money is going before you give it away.
"Death of a Nation." This is the eu de Culture this month. All over college campuses you can see the bright red shirts donning a silhouette decorated with cross hairs. We need to save Darfur, and everyone's convinced that going to the UN will do that. First of all, when has the UN done anything productive? Secondly, who listens to the UN besides American liberals?
Donating to the Darfur Charities probably won't get you very far until we (we, the world) come up with a viable solution for the conflict there. What would work is donating your time or money to an organization that's on the ground actually helping people with food, medicine and supplies.
And, contrary to popular belief, universal amnesty is not the answer.
Perhaps I've become a little cynical over the years as I've progressed from idealism to being a little more realistic in my viewpoints. I find no value in "fad" charities or organizations. There's so much more you can do through proper research of these funds (you might be surprised as to exactly how much of your money goes to the cause). You can even do more by donating to a children's hospital, local nonprofit pregnancy center (meant for helping women and not creating victims out of them), or reputable organizations like the National Right to Life. Donate your time...sometimes it's more valuable than your money to a charity that lacks manpower.
I would like to see these student-peers of mine take off their "Save the Ta-Tas" and "Save Darfur" T-Shirts and begin to put some of their time, energy and money into those causes if it really is important to them. The T-shirts aren't meant to just be a fashion trend.
Oh, they have a fire engine red iPod Nano.