ALS Challenge

I thought what Peter Singer had to say was very intriguing.  I believe that although he focuses on East Bengal, since that was most prevalent at the time, many of his concepts can be applied to all of the other devastating events that have occurred throughout time.  What I found most intriguing is the concept of giving enough but not too much in the way that you are not suffering in the way that those you are trying to help are.  He continues to talk about how five dollars would help, but more would feed more children and so on.  I have thought about this concept a lot recently due to the prevalence of the ALS ice bucket challenge.  At first, when I saw the challenge I did not think much of it, and thought that since everyone was doing the challenge, no one was donating and therefore the efforts seemed to be lost.  However, after a few days I realized that Peter Singer’s concept applies perfectly here.  I don’t think many people can argue that ALS is bad and we need to find a cure.  So, although I realize that not everyone can give one hundred dollars, people have been giving what they can.  Not only did the challenge raise money, as proven by the articles about the drastic increases in donations, but it raised awareness of something that many people may not have been aware of since for many people it is not “close to home.”  So this again relates to how Singer talks about how he will never know the name of the Bengali kid, however it does not mean that it is morally right to ignore the situation.  I think that the ALS challenge is a perfect example of how people see something that is wrong and are doing what they can to help whether it is raising awareness, donating a little, or donating a lot of money.