Opinion: Be aware, be very aware

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Like the medieval church, modern-day activists use the calendar to commemorate the dead and inspire the living. So the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month means that people otherwise unmindful of the disease and the need for a cure will focus in a special way on breast cancer. Unless, of course, their attention is captured by the fact that October is also Disability Awareness Month. And Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And Energy Awareness Month. And Down Syndrome Awareness Month. And Cyber Security Awareness Month. And while no one has declared October Financial Insecurity Awareness month, we’re all celebrating it unofficially.

In the welter of awareness-worthy causes, it’s easy to think that all of them are important but none of them is paramount. That, of course, is the way we feel year-round about a multiplicity of good causes. So why designate October, or any other month, as (Fill in the blank) Awareness Month? The concept would click only if some Awareness Traffic Controller were able to even things out by reassigning some observances to different months. But even that might not work, because every month is already an awareness month. Moving Disability Month to November might seem like a good idea, until you realize that it’s already pretty booked. November, as you probably don’t know, is National Adoption Awareness Month, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, American Diabetes Awareness Month and National Alzheimers Awareness Month.

Maybe it’s time for a Cluttered Calendar Awareness Month.