Ribbons, Magnets and Colored Bras
One of the few blogs I read daily is that of KemMeyer.com. And I told her last week this may be the best post she's ever written. Why do I think it's so good? Cause she said exactly what I've been thinking lately (and don't we generally think people are brilliant if they agree with us?).
What follows are Kem's words speaking my thoughts...
I’ve been living in tension about all of the missions, causes and campaigns I hear about on a daily basis. It’s been increasingly harder for me to sort it all out and make sense of what’s really going on.
- Ribbons and magnets for every awareness under the sun
- Pink appliances, canned goods and fried chicken baskets
- Avatar overlays for Live Strong, Haiti Relief and the Iran Election
- Fundraising up charges at the grocery store checkouts for children’s hospitals
- Twitter RTs and reciprocal blog banners
- Facebook fan pages and bra color status updates
- Rubber wristbands
It’s all for a good cause, but is it good? An article in this month’s Fast Company: Helping Humanity With a Click of the Mouse helped me find the language to articulate some of the angst I’ve been struggling with.
“There’s a newish movement called ‘slactivism.’ Basically, it refers to doing good without having to do much at all. It’s inch-deep activism that doesn’t cost much money and takes even less effort.”
I’m not criticizing people trying to make the world a better place. And, I’m not judging anyone who has participated in anything on my bulleted list above. I honestly don’t assume that these incidental actions are the full picture of a person’s charitable giving or sacrifice. I am, however, going on record stating that the reverse is also true. If you never see me put a magnet on my car, RT your Twitter campaign, join your Facebook cause or put an overlay on my avatar, don’t assume I’m not sacrificially engaged in something bigger than me.
I’m not indifferent to the fact there is more I can do. I will keep pressing into what part God is asking me to play with my resources to make a real difference in our world. But, I am indifferent to aligning myself with anything that resembles the 2010 version of a chain letter.
It feels good to get that in the open. Let the hate mail begin.