A Modest Proposal...

I write this with a certain amount of trepidation. I don't want to seem insensitive and I certainly don't want to lessen the incredible grief and destruction that cancer of any type- including breast cancer, causes on families around this country.

That said: seriously now? Isn't enough, enough? Yogurt lids I could deal with. Little pink ribbons and pink t-shirts. Fine by me. But, America, I submit to you that we have gone too far. Way too far with breast cancer awareness. There's a fine line between raising awareness and becoming creepily obsessive about a disease and guess what kids? That line- it's about several hundred miles behind us at this point. You can get pink vacuums. You can get pink underwear. You can get pink Frito Lays and Sun Chips. Mike's Hard Lemonade is doing a special Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Lemonade- so you can get sloshed for breast cancer apparently. Panera has its pink ribbon bagel (shaped like the ribbon and thankfully, not pink. I think if it had been it would have sent me right over the effin' falls.)

So, to summate: you can now buy enough clothing to wear pink every single day this month. There's enough pink accented food out there that you can eat 'pink' food- every single day this month. You can even buy Mike's Hard Pink Lemonade (though I didn't actually see any in Hy-Vee today) so you can sit down on a Sunday afternoon and take in an NFL game where all the players have pink wristbands and pink ballcaps.

In short, gang, it's way past time to stop the madness and take a good hard look at our new obsession with the color pink- all in the name of raising awareness for breast cancer. Because, speaking as a heterosexual male above the age of 12, there was a chance that I was going to forget about breasts sometime soon. This year alone, the American Cancer Society is estimating that there will be 1,529,560 new cases of cancer in this country with 569,490 estimated deaths. Out of those numbers, breast cancer comes in number 3 behind lung and prostate cancer- so, again, not to sound insensitive about it, but they're estimating nearly 207,000 women will die of breast cancer this year alone. I have a feeling we're going to notice that. I have a feeling people are going to remember. I have a feeling that we're going to be aware.

So, my modest proposal? Before any of you rush out to join the pink encrusted consumer driven madness, all in the name of raising awareness for breast cancer, take a moment to visit this website: Think Before You Pink and do some research. That pink vaccuum you've had your eye on? It might be funding a corporate profit margin far more than finding a cure for breast cancer.

This month: think before you pink.