This morning I was walking in circles.- In the snow.
- At 5 am.
- With no sleep that night.
I was walking alone, thinking deep thoughts to myself, 'till I wondered if my thoughts were alone. So I bounced some stuff off of the fellow walking next to me. He was a super nice guy, "Matthew Grosodonia" his name turned out to be. Many of the following thoughts we discussed, though I don't want to put words in his mouth, therefore please only hold me responsible for these published opinions:
Summary of Relay for Life - What is it?
For those of you who don't know what it is, Relay for Life is an annually-held event, in this case Gonzaga University was hosting it. The event promotes Cancer Awareness and raising funds for researching cures. The participants pay (donate) through an organized team, then each team is responsible for keeping people walking on a marked course all night long. I think the total time was 13.5 hours a team had to have a member walking. Everyone got a t-shirt, some food, coffee, energy drinks, there were raffle prizes, "root beer pong" (tee-hee! They didn't say, "Beer!"), etc.
It's for a great cause. Awesome.
It also turned out to be one of the stupidest things I've ever done.
Musings - What's the point? To "Raise Awareness."
Rarely am I ever pessimistic about life. If there's good to be found in a situation, I'll let that drive me. But this was a doozie. I'm walking in freakin' circles. Think of all the pointless things you could do to waste your energy. And when I say "pointless" I mean "pointless..." Not "boring" or "difficult to accomplish." Pointless. Here's a list of pointless things I thought up at 5:00 am:
- Watching paint dry. (pointless)
- Worrying. (pointless)
- Voting for Ralph Nader. (pointless)
- Walking in circles. (pointless)
Think for a moment: Have you ever realized how unbelievably shallow that sounds? ...To "raise awareness?" When I'm debating with someone, and I lay out my whole argument in front of them, it's on a blackboard, my argument is watertight, and the person nods his head and says, "Alright, I understand your point." Then he blinks at me as if "I understand" is a perfectly valid rebuttal. I'm not asking for him to understand! I'm asking him to agree, disagree, or (my gosh) even say, "Let me think about that for a moment," but "understanding," carries no value or merit. It does nothing, therefore it means nothing. It's a filler-fluff word that is designed by our society to resolve conflicts. Our society puts so much emphasis and importance on being tolerant, diverse, and understanding the other's view, people are convinced that's the only thing they need to do. Just understand. No decisions need to be made. I'm blown away at how many bright people's arguments are shut down when their opponent says, "I understand." So what you understand!?
...The same with the phrase "raising awareness." It implies that if you're aware of something, you've done your job, and it's time to move on. "I understand." It has nothing to do with agreeing, disagreeing, or investing time or action. By walking in circles all night, which was a heck of a lot of work, we were encouraging people to be aware of cancer--nothing specific or educational like "This is what a lump feels like in a breast that has cancer," or "Here's a monthly pocket calendar. Use it to remind you to check for prostate cancer." Nope, no action. Just be aware. The correct state of mind is all it takes. By walking in circles all night, we were "Raising Awareness," which technically means if a passerby responded with, "Cancer. huh. Interesting," our job would've been a success.
The fluffy buzzwords "Raising Awareness" may motivate some volunteers, but if "making people aware" is the only result I'm getting out of passerby with all the work, time, and discomfort I'm investing, I say screw it. My standards aren't that low. Get practical people.
Musings - Practically speaking.
To be fair, "Raising Awareness" wasn't the only lofty goal they had in mind at this event. The "raising money to research cancer cures" makes perfect sense. The testimonials of the coordinators who fought or are still fighting cancer were very moving and gave "the cause" personal meaning. That makes sense. We had fun, got a t-shirt, got some food, hung out with friends, and in my case, my wife fulfilled her class assignment. That makes sense. BUT WALKING IN CIRCLES ALL NIGHT LONG, IN SNOW, SLEEP DEPRIVED? Practically speaking, this is ludicrous. It's not "funny," it's not "creative," it's not "random," it's not even over-the-top and 'shocking' (even according to absurdest humor).
I do realize we live in a comfort-driven society where we must fabricate our own discomforts to 'feel alive,' but even these discomforts have a point. For example, extreme sports: They pump the adrenaline, they take skill to master, you can compete, etc. Basically, they're fun. That's the point.
"Prayer walks" are are more serious example. You walk and pray about things you see or things that come to mind. Maybe if they had one marker on the track for Relay for Life where whenever you walked past it, you said a prayer. Now there's a point. Or maybe if there was a certain number of laps each team had to do, and the first place team got a prize. There's point. But nope... no points, no challenges, no goals... "You donated money," which is practical, "Now go walk in circles all night," which isn't even remotely practical.
And to justify it by saying, "It's fun because your friends are there," is simply embarrassing. I try to avoid the term "sheeple," but in this case it applies.
Musings - Last Thoughts
The coordinators provided a grassy area for people to pitch tents and rest when they weren't walking. How thoughtful!
The tents however were about 70 yards away from the speaker system, where the brilliant coordinators kindly kept the live music or country radio at 80 decibels... all night long.
I'd wager less than 1% of the people in the tents got sleep because the music was so loud. I can sleep through anything--earthquakes, thunder storms, you name it. Plus I had silicone earplugs, the most expensive ones I could find. However, the music was turned up so loud, I could feel it--yes, "feel it." That and the freshmen squawking, "OMG! I love this song!" Thus I successfully was apart of the 99%.
Musings - Summary
Never. Again.
