ALS?

I'm sure over the last few weeks we've all seen the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, mostly because the story has become the latest infotainment news. I'm covering this story because it caused great deal of diverting from the status quo. Social norms became under attack as both the politically right and left attacked the practice. Generally we like hearing about health pieces and we love infotainment. It along with other forms of soft news “[makes up] half of the print and broadcast news.” (Garber p. 116) Yet, the claws came a blazing.  Right Wisconsin fired a shot right to the heart of the fundraiser. 

What bothers me most about the Ice Bucket Challenge is the "look at me" aspect of the entire phenomena. In an age when every single banal and nauseating detail of everyone's lives is now the subject of a Tweet or Facebook post - it should not surprise me that philanthropy has found a way to capitalize on this age of internet narcissism.

But I'm left wondering if there is nothing left sacred? Can we no longer expect charity to be private matter? In the Book of Matthew Chapter 6, Jesus warns:

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven...But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

 - Right Wisconsin

It would seem the practice of the Ice Bucket challenge had confronted another social norm. However, dissent on the left came from another angle. One of likely the most interesting articles I’ve ever read dissenting to the Ice Bucket challenged talked more about its timing. 

I don’t have a problem with funding for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), popularly known as Lou Gehrigs’s disease. It is terrible and more research should be done to eradicate it and increase the quality of life for those who have it. However, it ain’t going nowhere. It’s not about to bring the United States down to its proverbial knees. Even more, rates are higher in Caucasian populations striking mostly middle-aged men. So statistically speaking, it is a rare old white man’s disease.

All the while, we have some urgent states of domestic and global affairs. People are talking about Ferguson, and the multiple victims of police brutality: Michael Brown, Ferguson, Eric Garner, John Crawford III, Ezell Ford, and Donte Parker. People are talking about Israel and Palestine, as Israel continues to pummel Gaza. People are talking about mental illness and suicide, at the news of my childhood favorite, Robin Williams. Earlier this summer, people were talking about the epic child refugee crisis at the U.S – Mexico border. Despite the fact that the news is heavy on the heart, we are having some critical conversations.

-Tea & Breakfast 

The author was expressing discontent with how easily infotainment can overtake hard news.The blogger is confronting another prevalent social norm, avoidance of race issue.   It doesn’t seem these voices went unheard. Many news stories shifted the conversation to the effeteness of disease treatment. This sparked an even bigger conversation about the high cost of administrative budget.