War of the Words: Spreading the word, or just a buzzword?

Awareness campaigns are crucial to society

By Aidan Mouellic, Staff Writer

My fellow staff writer, Cazzy Lewchuk, is a formidable person who would do a lot of help for people in need—or at least that’s what I thought. For some reason, Lewchuk thinks that awareness campaigns are ineffective; I completely disagree.

When I asked Lewchuk what he meant, he told me that he thought that campaigns, such as ongoing breast cancer awareness campaigns, are not doing any good because he “[doesn’t] see girls going around checking themselves for cancer.” Aside from the failed logic presented to me, Lewchuk is just plain wrong. Awareness campaigns do a lot to bring issues that people aren’t comfortable talking about into the open. Unlike fundraising campaigns that hope to raise money for the ill, awareness campaigns aim to inform and educate. Information is one of the most powerful forces in the world.

Without awareness campaigns, we are unaware. When we are unaware, we end up with a testicle the size of Lance Armstrong’s bruised ego. Poignant campaigns often spread the lifesaving information that is so desperately needed in society. Should we know the signs of heart attacks and strokes? Thanks to effective awareness campaigns, we do. What to do in case of earthquakes? We know because of information spread by awareness campaigns.

If it weren’t for effective and timely awareness campaigns, we would be living in a horrible society where women wouldn’t be able to vote, segregation would be the norm, and smoking tobacco would be prescribed for asthma. So Lewchuk may as well be against modern development if he is against awareness campaigns; which is to say he’s maybe conservative and wants things to be how they were in the 1800s.

Wanting things to be old-fashioned is okay; but not wanting to improve the lives of marginalized members of society and not wanting to shed light on important causes is wrong. Awareness campaigns only occur for causes that need attention. There is no campaign to spread the gospel of LeBron James or to end discrimination against attractive Caucasians because these are causes that have no virtue. Awareness campaigns happen because there is an issue that needs attention—otherwise people will continue to smoke cigarettes and die, while the world is shocked and confused.

Perhaps Lewchuk thinks that awareness campaigns are no good because a lot of them fail. It’s true that not all campaigns are successful; many still smoke and many still enjoy crystal meth. But it’s also true that if you don’t try to change the world, you never will.

I strive to be an aware individual, and I often am because of the valuable awareness campaigns that have changed the world. Next time an important message is being spread, take the time to listen—you might learn something that could save a life.