For all the talk about Tuesday’s election, my mind has been focused on a different sort of mandate this week, and it’s come through loud and clear:
1. People want to help.
I asked for people to comment on a blog post in order to help generate food donations for pets in need. A simple thing, perhaps, but still- I asked people to come, find the blog, take the time to type up a comment, and participate. I offered nothing in return other than the goodwill of taking part in something nice for animals.
I set a goal of 400 comments in a week- pretty lofty for this blog- with the thought that hey, even 300 would be a major success. (Well, it’s Wednesday at 9 pm, and we’re at 421 comments with 4 days left. Where’s this train gonna stop??)
My readers, who I love and adore and can always count on to help, commented.
Then you did more:
You tweeted, and posted on Facebook, and uploaded gobs and gobs of pictures to generate even more donations. You put aside your sometimes strong feelings on corporate campaigns and your own food preferences because you saw, for this moment, that maybe it was ok this one time to just participate. And you called in the rest of the world.
Pet people came. Kid people came. Lawyers came. Makeup people came (please stick around, by the way, I never did master the smoky eye). Kids and old people and men and women and Republicans and Democrats and Libertarians and Canadians who could care less about American politics and vegetarians and carnivores all together, posting side by side in harmony in order to pour a bowl into the collective pot of donations.
For as much as people paint the internet as a free-for-all kind of place where the hostile can anonymously sling arrows with impunity, I’ve gotta say it- I just don’t get that at all. It has proven, for me, to be such a powerful way to bring together so many slivers of good and mash them up into a big old happy sundae, with sprinkles.
Here’s to you, internet. For every creeper out there being slimy and rotten, there’s 50 people like you all.
Woot! š
Thank you, Dr V, for leading us! š
Somehow, in the midst of my busy week and your busy posts I missed this one. Too bad for me! Just when I thought the internet had “gone to the dogs” What with all the negative we’ve had in the last few weeks of the election, I find that it did GO TO THE DOGS (AND CATS AND OTHERS)! Sometimes it’s nice to remember that most people just want to get along and you proved it this week! Congratulations, Dr. V!!