By a show of hands, who here remembers the ice bucket challenge?

Since I can’t actually see you raising your hand, I’m going to assume you did and that you do. After all, who can forget a bunch of people dumping ice water on their heads and posting it on the internet for everyone to see?

Now, who remembers what that was all about?

If you do, good on you, because I sure don’t. All I remember was that suddenly, the internet was flooded with videos of people dumping buckets of ice on their heads for no apparent reason. Being curious as to why, I googled something to the effect of, “Why the heck are people dumping ice on their heads?” and found out it was to raise awareness for some disease I’d never heard of.

There was another time the news showed some guy climbing buildings. People referred to him as “Spiderman,” I believe, and when he was asked why he was climbing skyscrapers, he said it was to raise awareness for some disease or cause I had heard of, but can’t remember now. It struck me as being the most random thing ever, to be honest.

A day or two ago, I saw a blurb on an ad on some site that mentioned people in Brazil making a record-breakingly large pink t-shirt to raise awareness for breast cancer. I remember this because it was pink and I know that pink is a color associated with breast cancer. It may have helped that it was just a day or two ago as well.

Pretty much everyone is already aware of breast cancer though, some of us more than others. For instance, those who have lived through it are highly aware of it, and they will probably do more good to stop it than anyone who spends a day sewing a 1,000+ square foot t-shirt.

Incidentally, if you want to talk to someone who has lived through it, I know someone (my mom, in fact). Her site can be found here. Feel free to contact her. She’d be more than happy to tell you all about it and unload plenty of unwarranted useful health advice on you as she does so.

“Raising Awareness”

Now, the reason why I go through all these examples is to pose this question: what good is ‘raising awareness’ anyway?

I’d argue that in the vast majority of cases, it’s not much good at all, at least when it stands alone. At the very best, you might be curious for a bit, then forget about it the next day. At the very worst, it could actually be harmful since people sometimes equate ‘being aware’ of something as actually doing some good about it. It doesn’t do much good though—being informed about something is not the same as actually doing something about it.

For instance, I know about autism, but I have done nothing about it. I haven’t donated money to research it, nor have I signed any petitions to create more accommodating environments for those who have it. I suppose I’ve been a friend to a few autistic fellows, so that might count for something, but I probably would have done that anyway. Certainly, blue lights had nothing to do with it.

The point is unless you have a call to action (and a useful one, at that), ‘raising awareness’ probably isn’t going to do anything more than make people feel sort of good about themselves. Depending on the issue, you may also shape public opinion a bit, but that’s no guarantee, and in those cases, you’re usually relying on people reacting to their own herd mentality than inciting them to actively do something.

When Raising Awareness Is Actually Useful

All that said, there are circumstances where being aware does some good. A few examples include the following:

• Be aware of your surroundings when you cross the street. It could spare you from being hit by a bus.
• When you’re playing sports, being aware of the ball’s location is always useful. At best, it could make you a valued contributor to your team. At the very least, you’ll be less likely to get hit in the head.
• When the front lines dissolve and the battle is committed and you’ve entered into a frenzied melee, being aware of your surroundings makes you better able to spare your friends from getting skewered. At the very least, you’ll be less likely to get hit in the head.
• Be aware of your neighbor three doors down whose dog just died and they have this cold that won’t go away and their boss had some choice remarks about their job performance lately and no one seems to care and oh my gosh they really just need a hug someone please help. Your awareness can make sure they get the hug they need.

Note that in each of these examples, awareness enables you to act. It’s not enough to be alert alone. If you’re in the outfield and you’re fully aware of the ball streaking toward your head, it does you no good if you don’t catch it (or at least get out of the way). In full on melee, situational awareness will do more to keep you alive than strength or skill or speed alone, but you need to act. If you just stand by and attentively watch your friends get cut down, then you’re not only useless, but a lousy friend to boot.

If you know your neighbor three doors down is having a rough time but do nothing, then your awareness will do that person no good.

Being Alert, Doing Good

As important as awareness may be, it’s worth nothing on its own. That said, perhaps the most worthwhile alertness is that which is most immediately relevant to our lives. Note that the examples I cited are all pretty close to home (with the possible exception of being involved in melee). You may be aware of all sorts of grand causes, but perhaps the greatest influence you can have is within your own personal sphere.

Sometimes, the greatest good you can do is be a friend to the friendless.

Sometimes, the greatest good you can do is crack a joke to someone who can’t otherwise manage a smile at the moment.

Sometimes, the greatest good you can do is to forgive that one friend who said something insensitive that one time. They’re human too, after all.

Sometimes, the greatest good you can do is reach out to the lost and walk with them a while.

Sometimes, the greatest good you can do is to show someone a bit of kindness, even if no one sees it.

Sometimes, being aware of those around you is what will be of most benefit, but only if you act.

What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments! Also, please share this around. All proceeds go toward raising awareness in melee combatants so that at the very least, they will be less likely to get hit in the head. Really.

Note: A couple follow-up posts have been created. The first one can be found here: Raising Awareness and Informed Action