What good have you done today?
On the day I’m writing this, I’ve done little.
I ate breakfast, drank a cup of coffee and have done nothing (save for type this column) to contribute to the life of another.
But what could I do? Certainly there are things I could do, but which of them would be valuable, and which would prove an utter waste of energy?
Our impact on the world, as a whole, is limited. Despite our ability to contact the other end of the Earth, few of us do, and few of us have done this to successfully manifest any social, political or economic change.
No matter how many Kony T-shirts you buy, you’re not going to bring the man to justice alone by “making him famous.” No matter how many hoodies you wear, you alone won’t change Florida’s legislation on self-defense (to say nothing of destructing the stereotype people have about a man in a hood).
Each of these movements requires a complex of associations and a combined mass of individual support.
That is not to say that we have no influence on the structure of the world around us. Individuals now have more outlets to catalyze change than ever before (when public hearsay — and subsequent execution — was the surest way to get your name known). Now a single YouTube video or blog post is enough to spark a movement. Yet the conditions must be so ripe, the message so simple and the audience so impressionable that few of the many calls ever rally support.
There’s at least one way, however, for us to have a definitive, positive impact on the world outside our burp bubble.
You walk by the sign nearly every day.
“Save Three Lives!”
“Give Blood Today!”
“You Give Blood, We Give [Free S--t!”]
From the lack of traffic I see in the blood bus (there are always more stations empty than occupied), I take it few people actually donate (save for fundraisers and events when an incentive encourages your good deeds).
But we likely all know someone, whether or not we’re aware of it, who has required a blood transfusion.
Some facts to keep in mind:
According to the American Red Cross, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.
That’s more than 38,000 blood donations needed every day.
A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood (each donation is about three pints worth).
Do you know anyone who has sickle-cell disease or who went through chemotherapy? They probably needed frequent blood transfusions.
Spending less than an hour every two months, losing three pints of blood and getting free s--t (boxers, T-shirts, cookies, etc.), can actively help save someone’s life — someone who may one day be a loved one or yourself.
Yes, the procedure may be uncomfortable for some.
But I know, as you know, that you stick and pour more corrosive s--t into your body than the tip of a sanitized hypodermic does.
If you can sit through the discomfort of an overcrowded bus ride, a morning-after hangover or the fabricated story of someone you despise, you can surely sit through an hour’s blood donation.
Dyllan Furness is a philosophy and English junior at UF. His column appears on Tuesdays.
