Bad Copy of the Day Award

It feels really good to have another entry for Bad Copy of the Day Award.  It's as satisfying as stretching one's legs after a long car ride.

Today's stinkbomb is courtesy of the Highlands Ranch Community Activity Guide for August.  It lists all the classes and activities that I could be enjoying instead of planning a wedding.  Wouldn't that be nice?  Anyway, this entry was for Highlands Ranch Days, which is going to be a long weekend full of educational activities that teach people what this amazing land was like right before they built many, many square miles of houses on it.  I'll just cut straight to the direct quote (emphasis is, as always, mine):

"Explore the Mansion and discover bygone eras when fur trappers, gold panners, pioneers, hayrides, and Native Americans roamed the land that we know as Highlands Ranch."

Yes, those halcyon days when hayrides roamed the land.  That's actually my favorite John Wayne movie -- you know, the one where he meets up with the roaming hayride and calls it "pilgrim."  Fortunately, the good people of Highlands Ranch are faithful to their ancestry and are offering "historical reenactments, hayrides, western entertainment, and more," lest the schoolchildren be undereducated about the roaming hayrides.

Now I know why I save these stupid brochures to read over my morning cereal.  Fantastic stuff.

I hate the term "raising awareness."

You keep using that phrase, and I don't think it means what you think it means. When you're aware of something, it means you're cognizant of its existence.. You know it's out there. There are no degrees of awareness. Either you're aware of something or you're not. I hate events that are advertised as "raising awareness of _____," whether that be breast cancer, autism, or a really great shoe sale in the Sudan. (That is what's going on over there, right?) How is a 5k run going to raise my awareness of breast cancer? It's not, you see. You're trying to raise MONEY for breast cancer RESEARCH. It's like a Girl Scout coming to your door and telling you that she's raising awareness of Girl Scout cookies. Something is being left out, see?

It's not that I'm against any of the fine causes that are out there, having awareness raised on their behalf. I'd just really prefer that people say what they mean. The reason I'm breaking my monk-like silence on Funundrum to bring this up is that I just got an email from one of my favorite bands, who is endorsing one of my favorite politicians. It says, in part:

"Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds are teaming up to perform a special acoustic show to raise awareness of Barack Obama's presidential campaign this Sunday, April 6, 2008 at Indiana University in Bloomington."

I don't think that anyone, at this point in the political race, needs to have their awareness raised about the existence of Barack Obama's political campaign. No matter who you support, I'm pretty sure you're clued in on the reason that this man's caring, gentle, friendly, completely electable face appears repeatedly in the daily news media. But can't you just see it now? A couple of college students showing up to this event going, "I don't know who this Barack Obama fellow is, but I intend to pick up a pamphlet to find out."