Who doesn’t like awareness?

October was Autism Awareness Month.

November is CPR Awareness Month. It’s also National Crime Prevention and Community Safety Month, Adoption Awareness Month, Osteoporosis Month and Diabetes Awareness Month.

Whew. That doesn’t even include the specialized weeks or days in November. That’s a lot of awareness and safety.

Quick quiz: how many of those events were you aware of?

If you’re like many, you probably don’t know about these awareness vehicles until they get officially announced.

But how much energy can the individual put into these events every month? Is it possible to be aware of all the issues? In essence, becoming the superhero “Awareness Person?” Seeking out ignorance wherever they go, Awareness Person gets people thinking!

That seems unlikely. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing any of these events, organizations or maladies.

I just think that when we’re provided with such a glut of information it’s too much to take in. I feel this can result in apathy.

Generally speaking, people won’t take an interest in an issue unless they’re personally affected by it. Maybe they would if it is advertised using popular cartoons.

Remember the 80’s G.I. Joe cartoon? It was twenty-two minutes of unabashed violence and black-and-white moral decisions. Yet, at the end of every episode would be a public service announcement (PSA) giving kiddies all the information they need to know about safety and getting along with others.

As if that made up for all the mind-numbing violence they just showed!

I consider myself a fairly “aware” person. However, after watching my favourite cartoons, I still went out and played guns with my friends, using my fingers when a gun analog was unavailable.
I loved the PSAs but never hesitated to blow holes in my buddies immediately after.

Does this mean that after being presented with Diabetes Awareness Month, people will go out, purposely gain weight and get diabetes? Probably not.

But what can happen is what I call “issue paralysis.” The tendency to not act on any one issue because there are so many out there.

It’s still important to learn, to gain awareness. These specialized days/weeks/months/years/millennia (is this the “Progress” millennia or the “Change” millennia?) are extremely relevant and informative.

All I’m saying is that we should pay attention. Better attention. And if we’re affected by an issue, we should learn about it and spread that knowledge. Who doesn’t like knowledge?

That question may be better left unasked. All we have to do is try a little bit. Read a pamphlet, give some blood and most importantly, be aware of issues that affect other people. Gain knowledge.
Now you know. As my old buddies in G.I. Joe so poignantly said every week:

“Knowing is half the battle. Go Joe!”