Saturday, August 23, 2014

Why I'm Not Taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Let me preface this by saying that people should do what they want—if they want to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and/or they feel it’s an effective way of raising awareness of a terrible disease, they should follow their hearts. Good deeds are good deeds.

I’ve been issued the Ice Bucket Challenge. I will not be participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge, not because I believe there’s something wrong with it, but because of my values, my beliefs, my relationship with charity, my “issues.” There will be some who accuse me of being a spoilsport (or maybe an elitist), and while what others think of me is none of my business, perhaps one or two are interested in why I won’t play along. This is my answer.

One powerful influence on my values with respect to charity is Matthew 6:3-4:
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
New Revised Standard Version
I’m not suggesting that the Ice Bucket Challenge is irreligious. I’m not quoting scripture as some universal authority that must bind and compel anyone, believer or no. I’m not suggesting anything about anyone except me —from a very young age, I have felt that my charitable giving was a private thing, nobody’s business but mine, nothing to boast about or even let others know about, lest feeding my ego become my motive for giving.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has raised awareness—and a lot of much-needed money—for a worthy cause. Yay! That’s awesome! I decline to participate not because ALS doesn’t deserve the—attention—it does—nor because it doesn’t need or deserve the support—of course it does. I decline to participate because I’d rather just give without fanfare or fuss, because I want the attention on the cause and not on me, because I’d die of hypothermia if I did an Ice Bucket challenge for every worthy cause—causes dear to my heart include but are not limited to:
  • the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
  • the American Heart Association
  • the American Cancer Society
  • the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
  • the Alzheimer’s Association
  • the American Diabetes Association
  • the ALS Association
  • the AIDS Foundation
  • numerous conservation organizations
  • numerous arts organizations
  • numerous youth service groups
I do what I can. What I do, and for which organizations, is personal. Given how much of my life I live publicly (this blog is an example), it may seem inconsistent that I choose to keep this private, but there it is. It is consistent with my values, and that is going to have to be good enough.

Aloha!

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