Spotlight months
I am not fond of theme months, months that are supposed to celebrate a certain theme for the entire month. For example, October is Hispanic Heritage Month. It is also Family History Month, National Dessert Month, Fire Prevention Month, Vegetarian Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Computer Learning Month, National AIDS Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, as well as about 40 other commemorations.
While the idea of theme months to raise awareness of a cause must have seemed good in theory, the practice always has mixed results. So many causes are crammed into one month that keeping track of them becomes impossible. It is hard to remember one cause in a month much less five or six or 30.
My problem with theme months is this: Is it necessary to plan a month to be aware of a cause? If the cause is so important, people are already aware of the problem. Most causes, such as domestic violence and breast cancer, have events during that month to raise awareness. Other causes do nothing in actually raising awareness.
Some of it is because it is all about using common sense. Things like fire prevention are simple but many people get it wrong all the time. Everyone knows that a fire can be started by overloading an electrical outlet with too many plugs. Yet, fires are still started this way. Bad electrical wiring and no money to upgrade is another cause but those things are not how most fires are started. Carelessness is a factor. If that is the case, all the prior knowledge that the person might have is worthless.
Organizations are the ones who are using months to raise awareness of a special cause. It is a good idea to raise awareness of a cause but it is not a good idea to promote the organization itself. That is just advertising. The American Red Cross is celebrated for its work in March. National Volunteer Blood Donor Month is in January. It is even worse when the organization comes before the cause. The American Cancer Society has its own month, April. Yet, Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) and Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (September) are at least five months later.
Heritage months are strange. While I see the need to celebrate your own individual culture and nationalism, it should not be in an assigned month. I am a Latina, but that does not means I wait until October to celebrate my culture. I am immersed in my culture everyday, through my bilingualism and my family. Nevertheless, many people are fiercely proud of their culture and are happy that they have a month so that the rest of the country knows it too. If it is all about celebrating multiculturalism, then why not make that a month and scrap the rest?
Heritage months seem to be as if they are for other people, not for those who are being celebrated. They are for those who want to experience a different culture but do not actually take the time any other time of the year to find out about a certain culture.
I think raising awareness of a worthwhile cause is fine. However, so many other things that are being celebrated overshadow the important ones. Then again, how do you know which ones are the important ones? I will leave that for the reader to figure out.
While the idea of theme months to raise awareness of a cause must have seemed good in theory, the practice always has mixed results. So many causes are crammed into one month that keeping track of them becomes impossible. It is hard to remember one cause in a month much less five or six or 30.
My problem with theme months is this: Is it necessary to plan a month to be aware of a cause? If the cause is so important, people are already aware of the problem. Most causes, such as domestic violence and breast cancer, have events during that month to raise awareness. Other causes do nothing in actually raising awareness.
Some of it is because it is all about using common sense. Things like fire prevention are simple but many people get it wrong all the time. Everyone knows that a fire can be started by overloading an electrical outlet with too many plugs. Yet, fires are still started this way. Bad electrical wiring and no money to upgrade is another cause but those things are not how most fires are started. Carelessness is a factor. If that is the case, all the prior knowledge that the person might have is worthless.
Heritage months are strange. While I see the need to celebrate your own individual culture and nationalism, it should not be in an assigned month. I am a Latina, but that does not means I wait until October to celebrate my culture. I am immersed in my culture everyday, through my bilingualism and my family. Nevertheless, many people are fiercely proud of their culture and are happy that they have a month so that the rest of the country knows it too. If it is all about celebrating multiculturalism, then why not make that a month and scrap the rest?
Heritage months seem to be as if they are for other people, not for those who are being celebrated. They are for those who want to experience a different culture but do not actually take the time any other time of the year to find out about a certain culture.
I think raising awareness of a worthwhile cause is fine. However, so many other things that are being celebrated overshadow the important ones. Then again, how do you know which ones are the important ones? I will leave that for the reader to figure out.
Tags & Keywords : theme months, spotlight months, awareness months