Now I happen to think the ice-water challenge is frivolous, and while it’s certainly raising awareness of ALS, it seems to be more successful in giving a lot of people the opportunity to be the center of attention for a few moments during which they imagine they’re doing something meaningful for charity. I know this points the finger at a lot of people (including many friends), but I’m not saying they don’t contribute to charity - just that this ice-water thing is a lot like Michelle Obama’s hashtag activism, or her husband’s hashtag foreign policy: It “says” something perfectly reasonable, but also something that should be perfectly obvious and shared by everyone: We care about curing Lou Gehrig’s disease.